The Hawaiian and the Hunchback
by Guille van Cartier
Summary: Complete! Lilo visits the bell tower for a final time in an attempt to reassure a depressed Quasimodo...R and R...LiloStitch and HoND crossover
1. The beginning of the journey

The Hawaiian and the Hunchback  
  
By Guille van Cartier  
  
Author's Note: This is the first story that I have ever posted on the Net, and I pray you be as gentle as possible with it. I allow constructive criticism, but I don't take flames with good humor. So, here's the story. Review, Please! It's a weird crossover, I know, but I'd prefer it if you would at least consider reading it. You can even skim it if you want. Just read it. And review.  
  
Disclaimer: The only things I own are a few art books, some posters...yada yada yada...Everything else belongs to someone that is not me. In this case, Disney. So there.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Screaming. That was all that Lilo could hear as she passed through the enigmatic tunnel, and its origin was her own throat. Yelps of pain escaped her lips, representing all the pain that pulsated within her tiny body, just like the light that flashed its rays, encompassing her in this unknown hell. What was happening? Why was she there? Who hated her so much as to force her there?  
The rainbow streaks that passed mercilessly before her eyes blinded her temporarily with every convulsion, sending tears down her tanned cheeks. She was being pushed forward, compelled toward an unknown place and it was an uncertain detail if she would be safe there, or if she would survive the trip. This was all so confusing! What had she done for this to happen?  
She wanted so badly to close her eyes. The flashes were so bright that it caused as much pain to her as the invisible forces that she was sure were cutting into her skin. She wanted to block out the light and spare her body of at least one part of its suffering. But something was keeping her eyes open and she was constrained to keep them in their exposed state. She felt she had no more control.  
Why hadn't Jumba warned her that this might have happened? There must have been some sort of defect in the transportation device; otherwise she wouldn't be in the situation! Why was Jumba always leaving out the most dangerous parts of his inventions just so that someone in the household would test them for him? Why had Lilo been so naïve as to listen? She admitted quietly that she had known that such a thing probably would've happened when she had agreed to test the device, but the pain was not something that she had anticipated. Stupid Jumba, Stupid Dimension Hopper, Stupid her!  
The pain increased minutely, Lilo feeling rough scratches at the wounds she suspected was all over her body. She yelped, her eyes producing more tears with every abrasion. She had to keep her mind off of the horrible feeling; she had to think of something of comfort! But for Lilo, comfort was a distant memory in this realm of existence. The only thoughts that streamed through her head were those of great lamentation. Memories of earlier in the day. The start of this whole abysmal suffering.  
  
Earlier that Morning, 7:00  
  
The day had begun for Lilo, marked by the unceasing chiming of her alarm clock. The tiny golden peals were enough to annoy anyone into waking, and yet the young girl still remained in the cushioned luxury of her warm bed, ignoring every ring as much as she could. But, as most of you might know, a ringing alarm clock cannot be forever kept at bay and it would be at the sad expense of your dreamscape to cease its endless chiming. There are many lucky people whom have the model of clock that end after a certain amount of time, but unfortunate Lilo had the ancient example, the type that's alarm is sent into its ringing by use of a tiny hammer. And those, sadly, do not back itself into silence at the comfort of its master.  
Lilo stirred finally, after several irritated seconds, but only to flip her pillow over to cover her head and hopefully stifle the monotone of the bells. The cushion did muffle the noise, but not to the extent of satisfying Lilo's want. Those horrible persisting bells! If she weren't so emulous upon sleeping, she swore she would've gotten up and thrown the device and its abominable melody out of her window!  
Though Lilo was so bent upon her slumber, Stitch wasn't so ardent as to be able to remain asleep. Lilo, who kept her eyes shut tightly, heard the offended grumbling of her alien friend, then a surprising (yet oddly expected) crunching of metal. The alarm clock had been silenced forever. The next sound that reached her ears were Stitch's heavy footsteps and the creaking of an opening door, and the slam of a shutting one. Lilo smiled. Count on Stitch to help her even in the most trivial of situations.  
Lilo once again attempted to regain her lost dream, which she had been unable to grasp firmly onto during the tintinnabulation of her currently deceased timepiece. But, sadly enough, the reverie slipped from her upon the winged creature sleep, and she found herself not only dreamless, but also wide-awake. That stupid alarm clock had fulfilled its duty! Lilo could not find sleep again, no matter how long she laid in her bed in silence with closed eyes. It had flown away with the start of a new day.  
Lilo sighed quietly and threw the pillow bitterly from above her head, sitting up. Unexpectedly, she did not feel the least bit groggy, which was rather habitual to most human beings that woke in the morning and wasn't looking forward to the day. Lilo did not feel as happy about waking up as she had the other day, either, and she decided, after a few seconds of thought, that even if she wasn't desirous of rest, she would remain in her room for the remainder of the day. And, perhaps, even the remainder of the week. Such was her hope, in all truthfulness.  
She blamed all bitter feelings upon the devil of a girl Myrtle Edmonds. It wasn't until the happenings of the day before that she realized how much she hated the aforementioned redhead. Before that, her logic had been buried under the ardent want of friendship. Friendship from Myrtle and the small group that hung around her like flies to a piece of rotting meat. Now that Lilo thought more fully on the matter, it should've been an obvious thing to see how much Myrtle hated her, what with the rude nicknames and the absolute hesitance toward even communicating with her, with exception of a few impolite quips and pointers. She felt so stupid now that she had a greater understanding of Myrtle's loathing toward her, regretting those many days that she had vied for the attention and acceptance of that immature group. So many wasted days.  
"Lilo!" Nani's voice broke the brief silence that had dominated Lilo's room, snapping Lilo from her rueful thoughts. "Get up and eat breakfast, Lilo! You'll be late for the bus if you don't hurry up!"  
Lilo listened quietly to the maternal tone that her sister's voice had gained over the small amount of time that Lilo had been living with her. She sighed in such a wistful manner, and flung the warm blanket from its place atop her dark legs. She shivered a tiny bit at the sudden change of temperature, but shook it off and hopped unenthusiastically off the edge of her berth, her skin still somewhat goose-pimpled. She made her way to the elevator that allowed her down to the hall from her new room upon the roof of the house, and activated the machine.  
As it made its quick descent to the main part of the house, Lilo silently remembered the fact that she was still in her bedclothes. Nani wouldn't be very happy at that, but Lilo didn't seem to care very much anymore. She wouldn't be going to school that day; she would make sure of it.  
Finally, after several fast seconds, Lilo found herself staring out into the hall of the residence. She reluctantly stepped out of the elevator chamber, her bare feet growing cold from the slow-warming surface of the wooden planks that made up the floor. She made her way to the kitchen/ dining room of the small abode; her eyes still glued upon the ground her feet were stepping upon.  
Nani, Jumba, Stitch, and Pleakley were assembled disorderly in the kitchen. Jumba and Nani sat at the small circular table that was set near the center of the modest room; Nani was completing a quick breakfast of toast and eggs, as Jumba spread what seemed to be a whole stick of butter upon the waffles that had been set before him. Pleakley stood at the stove, an apron tied neatly around his thin body, preparing what seemed to be pancakes for Lilo. Stitch was sitting upon a tall stool that was set against the kitchen counter, messily preparing Lilo and Nani's lunches for the day. They all barely noticed her as Lilo stepped sadly into the room, and only turned attention to her when she had finally sat down at the table.  
"Good morning, little girl," Jumba greeted semi-politely with a mouth crammed full of eggs. The food flew out of his mouth as he spoke, right into Lilo's face, and yet it was the nicest greeting Lilo was going to get for the rest of the day.  
Nani looked up from her breakfast and soughed disappointedly at the sight of her sister. As Lilo had predicted, Nani wasn't very accepting of her wearing her night clothes when she was already near late for the bus.  
"I thought you were changing your clothes!" Nani declared, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "You were supposed to get up right when your alarm clock rang! What happened?"  
Lilo kept her silence for a while, breaking it only to thank Pleakley for the pancakes when they were set in front of her, then continuing it as she stared at the small stack of flapjacks. Nani waited quietly, but her impatience would not allow her to stay in such a state for long.  
"Well?" Nani snapped. Lilo kept her quiet. "Well, say something!"  
Lilo looked up at her sister for a second, her eyes full of dejected glimmers, mixed with the anger that she held against her sister for not understanding her state. But, she did as her sister wished; though not exactly in the way her sister was suggesting.  
"Jumba, can you pass the syrup?" Lilo asked timidly. The large alien lifted a questioning eyebrow, but complied to her request nevertheless. Lilo thanked him upon receiving the thin bottle and she proceeded upon pouring syrup on the pancakes, descending back into her quiet sadness. Nani groaned angrily at her sister's attitude and forgot about her breakfast, which had been sitting quietly on the table, as if waiting for her to complete an impending tirade that was sure to happen. If the breakfast was a living thing, which, I am telling you now, it is NOT, even it would've known about the increasing amount of lectures that the young woman had been presenting to her kindergartner sister. The other three occupants of the room shared a three-ways glance and braced themselves for what they thought would be another typical explosion from the older sister.  
"Lilo, for the love of god, learn to take me seriously!" Nani yelled, her fingers rubbing her temples in a sign of her anger and weariness. Lilo's eyebrows lowered in a sign of her own anger, and she continued to watch the thick syrup as it oozed out of the nozzle at the end of the bottle. She didn't seem to care about the syrup at all, no matter how focused upon the substance she seemed. The pancakes slowly became soggy under the large amount of liquid.  
"Sorry," Lilo mumbled, though her tone was rather distant. Evidently, Nani took such a thing into offense.  
"No you're not!" She exclaimed, slamming a fist down onto the table. Lilo still kept her silence, her eyes brimming with tears. Why was Nani getting so worked up about her not changing her clothes? It was so stupid...like so many things nowadays. Was Nani becoming fed up with her? It was only the second day of school anyway! The tears that were forming themselves in Lilo's eyes finally began to fall, no matter how hard Lilo tried to keep them in. At the sight of her sister's crying, Nani suddenly felt herself becoming guilty and she cleared her throat. She stood up from her seat at the table and, with a much calmer manner than she had earlier, knelt beside her sister's chair, looking worriedly at her.  
"Lilo is there something wrong?" She asked, her voice quieted to a concerned whisper.  
"Nothing," Lilo replied unconvincingly. Her tears came streaming down harder than ever and Nani found herself feeling more or less guilty for her earlier impulsive actions. Nani took the bottle of syrup from her sister's hands, having noticed that the plate of pancakes was already drowning in a sea of the stuff. Lilo acted as if such a thing did not happened, not complaining at all, her hands just dropping nonchalantly to her sides.  
"It's all right, Lilo," Nani said, "you can tell me."  
"I...I just don't want to go to school today," she replied quietly. Nani lifted an eyebrow as the other three in the room looked at Lilo, unsure of her reasons for such a thing. Nani questioned her sister's statement and Lilo responded by claiming that she had no reason.  
"But," Nani said, "that doesn't make sense. You were so excited about going yesterday, why not today?"  
"I can't tell you," Lilo answered secretively, rubbing the tears from her cheeks. Nani sighed, wanting to be nice but firm, and, to be truthful, she was ultimately unsure of how to pull it off. Lilo looked so pathetic, crying over school, so she suspected it must've been important, especially if she wasn't going to tell her why she didn't want to go. It was only the second day that Lilo should go to school, so it would be out of the question normally for her to miss it...but, then again, what's one day of school, more or less?  
"Did something bad happen to you yesterday?" Nani guessed. Lilo shrugged, evidently not wanting to even hint her sister on her reasons. Nani sighed, deciding to be firm for the day. Perhaps sometime later she would allow her sister such lenience. "I'm sorry, Lilo, but you'll have to go to school today if you don't have a reason."  
Lilo looked up so angrily at her sister, apparently surprised at receiving such an answer. She was sure that Nani was going to give in; that was how it usually ended when she stopped herself from a diatribe to comfort her. "What?" she inquired, her tears having stopped, replaced by confused anger.  
"You need an excuse to get out of school, Lilo," Nani replied adamantly, her eyes narrowed once she sensed her sister's anger. Lilo looked down at her uneaten food and grumbled furiously to herself, her words apparently insulting and aimed at her sister.  
"You wouldn't understand anyway," Lilo said, her voice finally audible. "You're not the one who has...who has..."  
Lilo's voice dwindled into a vague susurration, imperceptible to Nani and the others that stood in the room.  
"Who has what?" Pleakley questioned, lifting his single eyebrow in confusion. Lilo just glared at him and sighed frustratingly. Nani sighed herself.  
"If you're not going to tell me, then you might as well go," Nani said finally, standing up from the floor and straightening out her blue shirt. Lilo seemed to have decided that arguing would get her nowhere, nowhere if she wasn't going to reveal her problem, that is. Nani grabbed her bag from the floor beside the chair where she was sitting earlier, and accepted the lunch that Stitch had made her in a brown bag. "I'm going to work. I don't want to find out you didn't go to school later on, okay? Get ready quickly; you're going to miss the bus."  
And with those words, Nani made her way into the hall, then out the door. Lilo remained seated at the table, noiseless as always (or perhaps speechless would be a better term), feeling the weight of the glances that the other occupants presented to her, probably thinking she did not notice. But the heaviness of such stares were easily felt by the embarrassed girl, and Lilo made her way as quick as possible out of the kitchen, then up the elevator into her room.  
"Stupid Nani," Lilo whispered angrily, "she doesn't know anything about anything. I can't go to school when I have...when I have cooties..."  
She felt the horrid tears reappear once again in her eyes and they ran freely down her tight face. The memory of her supposed ailment left her so wistful and angry that she had fallen to the floor upon her knees in a sign of her sadness. Cooties. She had cooties and everyone hated her for that. Stupid Cooties.  
You who are reading this are probably wondering how Lilo could get such a ridiculous thought anchored in so firmly into her thoughts and beliefs, and I will take this time to explain it to you. It isn't too hard to explain, and I can do so with just the mention of a name: Myrtle Edmonds. Yes, Myrtle Edmonds. That little girl of whom is the manifestation of all that Lilo hated (except broccoli, but that's not the point), who seemed so harmless, and who turned out to be more insidious than she first revealed herself to be, not unlike an eagle who hid its claws or a viper who hid its fangs. She had caused so much pain to Lilo, not physically of course, for we know whom is the better fighter between the two (for those who don't, it's Lilo), and left the little girl an outcast from everyone in more ways than one.  
She caused the chain of events that led to Lilo's torture with a single word: cooties. Such as a disease, a single rumor can spread with just a little bit of contact. From one person to another, this word, attached to Lilo's name, passed across the playground and in the twinkle of an eye, everyone was scrambling to rush away from the little Hawaiian. Like the children they were, they all knew the concept of these horrid cooties, but were too immature to realize its falseness, with the exception of a few whom just played around for the fun of it.  
At first, Lilo was unsure just why everyone had chosen to avoid her, but after a moment standing behind a tree as others whispered the rumor to each other, she understood and finally learned about just what cooties were. Lilo, who was not completely innocent, but still had remained ignorant of the "disease" before that first day, was completely worried by it. So, Lilo was alone the whole time at school, fighting with the whispers of her classmates and the ever-growing fear of cooties. Cooties...and the day had begun with such promise...  
Lilo remained on the floor of her bedroom for an unknown amount of time, but it would be known that the first thing that had snapped her from her thoughts were the odd little yelps that Pleakley emitted when he was in panic. Standing up and rushing quickly to the window, Lilo realized with a mixture of dread and happiness that the bus was already leaving the hill, seeing that she wasn't standing there waiting for it.  
Lilo smiled and rushed to the elevator, descending quickly to the hall, just in time to catch the sight of Pleakley rushing through the corridor, his arms waving violently in the air.  
"Where is she?" he yelped, grabbing his head. "Oh, the bus, the bus! It's gone and she's not with it! Where is she?"  
Lilo remained in the small chamber of the elevator for a moment, unsure if she wanted the cyclopean alien to see her, or if she wanted to remain secluded from him. Pleakley rushed around, panic-stricken, several times before finally clearing his senses enough to notice her standing alone, staring at him. Pleakley coughed, embarrassed, regained his composure, and then started toward her.  
"Oh, there you are," he said, pulling her gently out of the cylindrical cubicle by her arm. "You missed the bus, so we..." The thin alien eyed Lilo's clothes and sighed wearily. "You didn't even change your clothes."  
"Oh yeah," Lilo responded, laughing sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that."  
"Nani isn't going to be happy about this," Pleakley remarked, his voice taking an irksome approach. Lilo frowned suddenly, remembering her sister's warning.  
"You aren't going to tell her, are you?" Lilo asked worrisomely, her eyebrows lifted in a pleading expression. Pleakley gazed at her for several seconds, sensing her apparent fear of Nani's reproach. Her eyes glittered with sadness, her lower lip quivering with impending tears, her expression absolutely heart-rending. He sighed, shaking his head wearily, realizing suddenly how much of a pushover he was and how much trouble he was going to be in later on.  
"No, Lilo," he finally replied, stroking her head gently. "I won't tell her. Just-just go back up to your room and change your clothes. You're going to have to do chores since you're not going the school today."  
Lilo pouted angrily, her eyebrows lowered, but this expression soon dwindled into a happier, more neutral one. She realized that it was better this way than the other option that she had been presented, and she accepted it with as little bitterness as she could. Beggars couldn't be choosers, as the old saying went, and Lilo tried her best to live by it...though not without complaint every once and a while.  
Once she had completed changing her clothes, she rushed back down, more enthusiastic than she had started out that day. Stitch greeted her as she sped out of the lift giving her a hug of salutation, and Lilo returned it happily, giggling in spite of herself.  
"Come on, Stitch," she said, grabbing his arm and leading him to the kitchen, "we have to do chores."  
Stitch pouted, pointing out that is was she who had to do the chores, but followed anyway, racing against her upon reaching Pleakley. Stitch, as expected from the super alien, reached the Cyclops first, but had some difficulty with the brakes. This was shown by the sudden thrashing sensation that Pleakley experienced once Stitch reached the kitchen, toppling him over and pushing him violently against the tile of the floor.  
"Sorry," Stitch muttered quietly, crawling off of Pleakley's back onto his feet. Pleakley moaned in response and shook his circular head, mumbling something about a license plate. But he was standing upright soon enough, dusting off his clothes with a regained equanimity.  
"Alright," Pleakley said, grabbing a mop and bucket from their place against the wall, "Let's get started. We've got a lot to do today."  
  
Lilo spent the remainder of the day cleaning, though not with bad humor, for Stitch, although his obvious rancor toward chores, had decided to help her with them for the day. Pleakley, as usual (when Nani wasn't there, that is) was their taskmaster, and the fact that he was a neat freak just added more tasks than the normal household (at least those free of neat freaks) would have to endure. This irritated Stitch little, for he didn't know very much about other families' routine lives, just his own, so he took it as just another ordinary chore day. But that didn't necessarily mean he enjoyed it.  
Lilo knew Stitch better than anyone in the household, even Jumba, who was the mischievous blue creature's creator, and understood his hate of cleaning and decided to add a little fun to the usually unpopular mix. The duo had fun finding odd ways of turning their task into a game, just as Mary Poppins had once said (though, one must admit, not as magical as that). They ignored the fact that most of their fun resulted in not only the completing of the chore but the creating of a new one, for the mess that was created for the fun always resulted that way when Pleakley saw it. They just cared about their entertainment, and were happy to do the extra chore if it meant another bout of creativity and amusement.  
After three hours of this, Stitch and Lilo soon became bored of the game and decided to get the chores done the correct way. It took longer with this method, and they did want to get it done as quickly as possible, but they also did not want to risk the creating of another chore.  
Later, after all the chores were done and Pleakley decided that the two deserved a rest, Lilo and Stitch rested upon the sofa in front of the television. The TV, rather unexpectedly, remained blank, the programming that early in the morning lacking anything truly interesting for someone like Lilo, and the two decided to have a burping contest. Soda cans lay strewn across the floor, the product of the earlier rounds of their competition, and Lilo let out as loud a belch as she could with much more enjoyment clear upon her face than usual. Nani, whom was a more conventional woman, did not agree with such conduct and tried her hardest to push her sister in the same direction, so if she was there at that very moment (which, thankfully, she wasn't), Lilo and Stitch wouldn't be having such fun.  
It was then when Jumba lumbered down the stairs, having come from the attic, a surreptitious grin spread across his wide face. Lilo had admitted defeat after several rounds of their contest, realizing modestly how good of an eructor he was, and was just beginning to conceal the cans beneath the sofa when she noticed the scientist as he made his way into the living room. She stopped as quickly as possible, doing her best to hide the pile of soda cans that she had slowly began to push as far back under the couch as she could, afraid that he might reveal this scheme to the two serious guardians of the house. It was not easy to do such a thing, for the size of the pile was so prodigious that her kneeling form did not hide it very properly, but if Jumba noticed it, he did not put a sign to it. Apparently, he had something else taking hold of his mind at the moment, much to Lilo's comfort.  
"Good morning again, little girl," he saluted, smiling slyly as he approached the two occupants. "I see you are being home from school. I am seeing that Nani has changed her mind, yes? Good."  
Lilo kept her quiet, leaving Jumba's question unanswered, but the alien didn't seem to care very much about it anyway. He still held a preoccupied manner, and Lilo suspected that it had something to do with her and Stitch, barely anything with Nani. Stitch seemed to believe the same as her, catching the suspicious look that Lilo presented secretly to him and returning it with one of his own.  
"Lilo," Jumba finally spoke, "do you think that you could do something for me?"  
Lilo smiled in a triumphant way, having known that Jumba was up to something, but hid it when she turned to face the scientist. "Like what?" she asked.  
"It's nothing. Just a little invention that I've been using up most of my time on, and I was wondering..."  
"If I could test it for you?" Lilo finished for him, accustomed to this question, having had Jumba ask her for several times. The little Hawaiian girl, despite several times when she was caught in a life- threatening situation, enjoyed trying out Jumba's inventions and was eager to figure what it was that she would be dealing with this time, and, though hiding it right at the back of her head, she was wondering what dangers she would have to endure. But she showed little of that to the scientist, who seemed so agog for her to comply to his request.  
"Sure," Lilo finally answered, asking as if she cared little for it. Jumba gave out a yell of triumph and led her and Stitch upstairs, explaining his invention on the way up. It turns out he created a dimension hopper, a rather odd device that allowed one to travel anywhere, even in the worlds that were usually confined to the movie and television screen. Lilo and Stitch's enthusiasm about the device increased exponentially now that they knew what it was, and it was a challenge that they refused to take to hide their excitement.  
This was going to be great.  
Well, that's how it seemed.  
  
A/N: Okay, Okay, I know that was pretty crappy, but I suspect that my muse, who decided to leave me for a short vacation right in the middle of the chapter, will come back by the time this stupid flashback's over. The next chapter will still be part of the flashback, so stay with me; it'll be over soon. Not the story, the flashback. Be nice and review now, thank you. 


	2. The conclusion to the beginning of the j...

Chapter 2  
  
Author's Note: Okay, here it is, the stupid second chapter of the story. This is the continuation of the flashback, and then some, so read on. Stop paying attention to my note. It has no relevance anymore...Go away. No, wait! Stay! Read my story! And review! Please!...I'll shut up now.  
  
Disclaimer: Read the first chapter for it. I'm too lazy to write it down again.  
  
Jumba led the duo up the old stepladder that accessed the attic, the aging boards creaking loudly (and rather frighteningly to the two) beneath his large feet. When their heads finally peeked over the edge of the attic floor, Lilo and Stitch searched the enclosed space with their eyes. The room seemed to have changed little since the last time that they had found themselves within it, which was last Christmas as they searched for the presents that Nani had hid. It was still rather crowded, several boxes of sentimental junk that Nani had decided to place up there added to the clutter. Boxes lined the walls of the small space, piled right up until it nearly reached the edge of the rooftop.  
"Do you see anything, Stitch?" Lilo whispered, following Jumba into the crowded mess. Stitch shook his head, signifying his no, and walked beside her, both of them searching all the while. Jumba glanced over his shoulder for a second and smiled at the two of them, genuinely proud of his latest invention enough to hide it to build a somewhat overwhelming amount of suspense. And, if I must say so, it worked rather well.  
"Here it is!" Jumba exclaimed suddenly, stopping at the wall at the far side of the room. He threw up his arms in an odd little wave, stopping them outstretched, as if he were a magician's assistant presenting an amazing feat. But there was nothing amazing that Lilo and Stitch could see. Actually, there was nothing there at all, taking the wall into exception. The two shared a glance, which Jumba caught, arousing a sudden bout of raucous laughter from the scientist.  
"You are being confused, yes?" Jumba chuckled. Lilo and Stitch nodded, quite flustered by the man's odd behavior, unable to figure just what he was talking about. Jumba put a large hand into a pocket of his pants, revealing a small single-button remote control. He aimed the large antenna that protruded from the top of the gadget at a corner of the wall, and pressed the red button with his thumb. This action was followed by an odd crackling noise, then a sudden whoosh, and the wall in front of them disappeared.  
Beyond the wall, there was a part of the attic that had been divided from the main area, where all the boxes were crowded. It was a simple laboratory, consisting little more than the basics to experiment with and a large unusual looking cubicle that stood in the center. Jumba smiled contentedly at his hidden lab, proud of his ingenious idea that had allowed him to work unnoticed for such a long time.  
Lilo stared, shocked by the sudden appearance of the hidden workroom, then lifted a corner of her mouth in wide-eyed realization. "I thought this place looked smaller than the last time I saw it," she said, smiling at her own ignorance. Stitch smiled and "ooh-ed" at the lab, genuinely impressed.  
"So this is where you've been going all the time," Lilo guessed, stepping conscientiously over the small metal devices lining the area where the fake wall had been that generated the convincing illusion. She ambled over to the large box that sat in the middle of the workstation, touching it gently with her hands. "Is this the dimension hopper thingy you were talking about?"  
Jumba nodded, entering the area, followed closely by Stitch.  
"This way, you can travel anywhere in the universe!" He exclaimed proudly. Then he put his hands to his sides, thinking quietly to himself for several seconds. "That is if it is out of our solar system and/or takes place in another time and place. What I mean is, if you want to go somewhere that is during our time, it has to be in another solar system. If you want it to be in another time, then that is okay to be on Earth, yada yada yada, but it won't do well in other universes. I don't know why. Evil Genius cannot think up everything all at once."  
"Wow," Lilo said, smiling. She turned round quickly, excitement clear upon her face. "Can I try it? Please!"  
"Yeah," Stitch agreed. "Me, too!"  
"Yes, yes," Jumba said, "why are you thinking I have brought you here?"  
Lilo and Stitch exclaimed in excited celebration, raising happy fists into the air. They rushed to the cubicle, thrilled by what seemed to be their latest adventure, only to be cut off at the door by the bulking figure that was Jumba. Lilo and Stitch looked up at him as if he weren't supposed to be there, confusion set across their faces.  
"Hey," Lilo said. "What's the big idea?"  
"Yeah?" Stitch said, inquiring the same in his native tongue. Jumba shook his head.  
"Do you think that you can go gallivanting off into the universe unprepared?" He asked with a surprised tone. "As much as I'd like to see what would happen, we will have to get you, what is the term, suited up? No, no, that's not it...No suits, but...AH! Well, I'll figure it out later. But for now, let's get you equipped."  
Several moments later, Jumba had led the duo to a table at the wall at the far end of the attic (the real one this time), where a table was set up holding several items upon it's tabular surface. Jumba had them start at the starting end of the table (you may imagine to yourselves whatever end that may be), and presented to them a tiny device that resembled one of the ear phones that are used for CD players, which Jumba explained to be a translator. It slipped onto one of the ears and translated every word heard as soon as it was spoken. So, if Lilo or Stitch was standing in the center of an alien city, if this was worn then the sounds surrounding them would sound English. Useful for interdimensional travel.  
The second item looked like the crown of a tooth, and Lilo found out that it was something like that. It was almost like the translator, except it interpreted the words that she herself spoke into the language of the natives. It slipped onto your tooth and caught your words before they escaped your mouth. The two devices were to be used together. Stitch had complained for a while about it being unfair that there wasn't a translator the shape of his teeth, but Jumba pointed out that Stitch was smart enough to pick up the language by himself. Stitch grumbled in response.  
The last article on the table looked very much like a watch. It slipped around your wrist and it had a screen that showed the exact time that it was at the moment.  
"I already have a watch," Lilo pointed out.  
"It isn't a watch, it is a transmitter," he explained. The transmitter is used to show the place and time of the area that they were in. It and the dimension hopper were both used for interdimensional travel, one used to get to the place, the other to get back. His explanation was very scientific and overall confusing to the two who stood before him. Something about a wormhole and the transmitter keeping it open...blah, blah, blah... just a bunch of mundane exegesis that the scientist found rather fascinating. Lilo and Stitch did not agree as ardently.  
As soon as the explanation had come to an end and the two comrades were fully equipped, Jumba finally allowed the door of the Dimension Hopper to be opened. Lilo and Stitch readied themselves for the travel, getting a bag and filling it with snacks and such, Lilo deciding to take along Scrump and her camera. After the several minutes of preparation that this took, they all met again in the attic, where Jumba stood waiting for them.  
"Are you ready?" he asked. The dyad nodded excitedly and the scientist allowed Lilo to step into the cubicle. Stitch stared quietly at the chamber, his expression perplexed. Lilo realized quickly what was bothering the little alien.  
"Jumba," she said looking around her, "there isn't any room for Stitch."  
"Yes," Jumba said, "well, about that..." He smiled sheepishly. "The electricity bill was getting too high and so I had to make the chamber a little bit smaller...heh."  
"Oh," Lilo said. "So, me and Stitch'll have to go one by one?"  
Jumba nodded and Stitch released yet another one of his patented anger grumbles (Meega Nala Queesta, anyone?). Lilo apologized to her friend, promising to wait for him until he came, and saluted to the two. Jumba brought her transmitter and was just about to put it onto her wrist when a sudden burst of sound exploded from below. Apparently, Pleakley had found another reason to panic that morning, for his distraught squeaks could be heard from the attic.  
"What is going on?" he wondered aloud, handing the bracelet to Lilo without putting it around her wrist and hurrying down the wooden steps. Lilo and Stitch watched him leave, speculating as well what the reason might be, and listening closely. As she theorized, she attempted to place her transmitter where it belonged, having absolutely no luck. It had a funny clasp on it, and she was pulling as hard as she was able to, trying to pull the two ends apart. She couldn't slip it through her hand; it was just big enough to fit around her wrist! Well, Jumba would help her when he came back.  
The next moment, Jumba was lumbering up the stairwell, breathing as if he had been running, He rushed over to Lilo and grabbed her wrist pulling her along, looking back and forth from one wall to the other, as if he were unsure of just exactly where he was going.  
"Jumba, what's wrong?" Lilo asked. Jumba stared down at her anxiously, and her question was answered a second later. But not by Jumba.  
"Lilo!"  
A voice sounded, not too far from the stepladder that led to the storage space. It's voice? Nani. Lilo paled at the sudden sound of her sister's voice and took an approach similar to Jumba's. There was nowhere to hide! Nani must have decided to check if Lilo was at home, coming over without any warning to Pleakley or Jumba. It was just like Nani, who was one to make sure all rules that she set down were to be followed, well, at least most of the time. Why didn't she just trust Lilo? Then maybe there wouldn't be so many arguments between the two!  
Suddenly, Lilo heard Stitch's triumphant voice. When they turned to face the experiment, they noticed him pointing rather proudly at the dimension hopper. Jumba and Lilo exchanged a flustered glance and rushed forward to the device, pushing the young girl through the minute door. Lilo was about to close the entryway when she suddenly remembered the transmitter, which still rested, unopened, in the now sweaty palms of her tiny hands.  
"Jumba!" Lilo said, half whispering, half yelling, pointing anxiously at the metal band. "Jumba, I can't get it on!"  
"Ach!" Jumba exclaimed suddenly, rushing to her aid with an irked expression appearing across his face. "You humans, unable to do things so simple!"  
The scientist took the transmitter into his shaking purple hands, grabbing the two ends of the clasp and twisting the two apart. Lilo nearly slapped herself from her stupidity. Twist it! It was that simple! But she didn't get the time to punish herself, for Jumba had just pushed the watch into her palm, instructing her to put it on as fast as possible, then shutting the door behind him. Lilo rushed to put the band around her wrist, not having very much luck twisting the clasp back into place with one hand. Finally, after several failed attempts, she gave up and decided that it would probably work if she just made sure the two ends touched. If she held onto it as tightly as she could, then she would make it through the journey. She truly believed her logic was correct, though she got absolutely no verification and had decided not to ask the creator of the device. That is the reasoning of children.  
Jumba looked through the single window that was set in the small door, gesturing a question to Lilo. It was easy for her to understand it. It meant something along the lines of: Are you ready?  
"Yup," Lilo responded, nodding her head and giving the man a thumbs up. Jumba signaled something else to her, to the effect of: Where do you want to go?  
Lilo just shrugged, as if granting him permission to choose wherever she went. It didn't matter to her just yet, as long as she was able to get out of the house before Nani thought to check the attic. She gestured for him to just put her wherever he thought fit. Jumba received it as: "Surprise me."  
He jabbed the keys, smiling in spite of himself. He would.  
Lilo felt the sudden pulsating of energy appearing around her, sending mild, yet uncomfortable shocks through her body. She grasped onto the metal band as tightly as she possibly could, the sweat formed by both excitement and fright making it all the more difficult for her to do so. She desperately hoped that the machine would work soon. She could feel the two ends of the clasp slipping slowly from her pinching fingers.  
Through the small window, she saw Jumba as he finally ended pressing the buttons and flipping the switches in the control panel beside the device, then saw him turn to her and lift three fingers into the air...then two...one... Finally, as Lilo felt the rhythmical currents of energy flowing through her finally reach their apex, the world around her seemed to writhe in odd, dizzying directions, creating and effect that Lilo described to herself like "flushing the world down the toilet". Then, there was a sudden tugging sensation, as if she were being pulled into the center of the swirl by her belly, and she disappeared into the center of the whirl, ultimately beginning her journey to the unknown realm of Jumba's choosing. But, a millisecond after she had been pulled into the abyss, her grip on the transmitter slipped out of her grasp, and she was sent into the swirling hell that she would endure for what seemed an endless amount of time. The Screaming. Painful. Hell.  
  
Back to the present...  
  
The memories that we have reviewed passed much more quickly in Lilo's mind than it did for us, only nullifying a certain amount of the pain for the shortest of time. The tears that flowed from Lilo's brown eyes seemed to flow much less freely, as if the pain had squeezed her dry. It wouldn't stop. She couldn't feel any blood, but still...Her eyes finally seemed to ease allowing them to close halfway. Why this happened, Lilo didn't know, but it sedated the pain from the light enough to end the flow of tears. The lights began to dim, the pain began to subside, and Lilo felt her eyes closing, introducing her to an opulence that she had thought she would never experienced. The pain still existed, though in a more dulled way, and it was only the most violent of the convulsions that had found their way into Lilo's calmed subconscious. When it finally came to the time when Lilo's eyes were yet again forced open and the pain had once more found her more sensitive areas, she had found strength enough to continue the journey without being immediately brought to tears. The lights flashed faster and brighter, blinding Lilo much longer than it had the first moments. But, before her sight was engulfed in the clouded white that she was soon becoming accustomed to, she saw in the distance, its size barely larger than that of a pinprick, a darker area. Perhaps it was a darker, more foreboding place, holding more danger and anguish than what Lilo was feeling at the moment. Or, maybe, it brought what Lilo had expected, had hoped, just before it disappeared from her fading perception. Maybe it was the end of the tunnel.  
  
A/N: Okay, that's the end of the crap. I'm sorry, I just didn't like the chapter(s) very much, but as we all know, we've gotta start at the beginning; it wouldn't make sense any other way now would it? Alrighty then, now's the time I beg on my knees and ask for reviews. Remember: if it helps improve my work, it's a perk. If it says that it's good, I'm in a good mood. Any flames that don't help, GO TO HELL YOU WHELP...Sorry about the bad poetry. It's three in the morning; I've been awake for like, what, forever? Plus this painful thing in my side...Oh well. This is the time that you review. So go to that little bar...thingy...at the bottom of the page and go to the review...thing...and write up what you think! Oh, and thank you to those who reviewed already. You really helped! 


	3. The end of the tunnel

Chapter 3  
  
A/N: Alright, here we go, the third chapter. This is where I'm going to actually start writing well...or at least I hope it is. Thank you, those who reviewed for my last two chapters, you've given me a reason to continue. Oh, yes, and for Fallen Wraith: Frollo is going to be in the story. Just a bit further in, so you'll have to wait a while. ( Read on my friends, and Review!  
  
A sudden flash of rainbow light exploded at an upper portion of the spacious turret, sending iridescent rays rushing into every nook and cranny, illuminating the usual gloom that dominated the steeple. Each ray remained for a small length, the longevity of one of such flashes being only for a few seconds, just before they slowly dissipated into the previous dreariness. At that single moment, if one had been standing and looking at the sudden flare, blindness would have been inevitable. Luckily, no one was in the tower. But it would not be that way for so long.  
Seconds after the flash occurred, upon one of the high beams that supported the tower appeared a little girl, clothed in a red dress, her movements seeming to suggest a total lack of equilibrium. She staggered precariously forward, barely avoiding a plunge from the narrow timber onto the boards that waited almost two stories below. As the reader will recognize, this little girl is our Lilo, who had just broken through the end of the tunnel.  
All was a blur for Lilo and her mind was almost totally boggled by her agonizing ordeal, forcing her down upon her knees, dizziness controlling all movements she made. The smell, sound, and feel of rotting wood irritated her already aggravated senses, leaving her, perhaps, even more ill than she already was.  
Darkness encompassed her on all sides, and nevertheless Lilo saw nothing but a seemingly perpetual brightness that plagued her sight. The silence that filled the room was near palpable, and yet Lilo heard the ringing of so many iron bells from her spot on the wooden beam. So many screams and relieved sighs formed themselves in a horrible lump in Lilo's throat, and yet no sound escaped her lips but her labored and sick breathing. Everything, for her, was topsy-turvy, a broken reality. Her senses presented her with no true perception of the world that surrounded her, keeping from her the truth, making her unable to determine whether or not she would be safe where she was. And, that was something that she truly wanted to know. Just after her nausea ebbed enough for her to be able to. And it seemed that that would never come.  
The aches that had once harried her slowly descended into obscurity, leaving only a dull pain that presented as much nuisance as several bruises, unlike how they had once been. Lilo drew little opulence from this, her queasiness dominating all her thoughts at the moment. The creak of wood sounded yet again beneath her. Where was she?  
Lilo held in the vomit that attempted to force its way up her throat, sitting up as straight as she was permitted and shaking her head as if to clear it. This movement was soon aborted when she realized how much it worsened her condition, and she felt hot frustrated tears rolling down her cheeks. What was she supposed to do?  
Finally, after several moments of silent weeping and recovering from her nausea, Lilo decided to open her eyes. The whiteness seemed to fade minutely, allowing her sight enough to be able to make out several shapes in the darkness, but not enough for her to get the proper insight of her surroundings that she wanted. Where Jumba had sent her was a complete mystery to her and she was unsure of what the next course of action would be, and she doubted she would be able to tell, especially without her sight. She closed her eyes once again, then opened them, then began repeating this operation several times, more and more rapidly until she gained back most of her perception, though the best she could achieve still riddled her sight with several glittering orbs.  
Once her eyes became keen to the darkness, she took a look around her, finally noticing her tremendous height and feeling her squeamishness returning full force. Lilo was never to be one to feel so frightened about such trivial matters like heights and darkness, but at this moment, she would have to make an anomaly. The conditions didn't make it very easy to be brave.  
The moans of the board beneath her increased exponentially, drawing Lilo's attention to whatever it was causing its complaints. She thought in wonder, closing her eyes as the nausea started to reach a recognizable height. The smell of mildew once again reached her nose, and she wrinkled the mentioned body part in disgust and realization. The wood beneath her was apparently very ancient already, its lengthy lifetime rendering it barely able to withstand the excess weight that Lilo burdened it with. The little girl apprehended this in obvious despair, moaning in sadness.  
Lilo attempted to think out her situation, but the ever loudening creak of the support beneath her snapped her out of her thoughts every time she neared the answer. Soon, after several attempts, she decided that the only way she would be able to get out safely from the situation was to stay near a stable part of the beam. The only problem was the fact that she was unsure where exactly this safe place was. She moved back and forth across the beam, sliding her bottom across the wooden surface, but everywhere she ended up on, the beams creaked just as loud, sometimes even louder than the area that she had started. Finally, after several moments of rest, she realized that the most supported place on the beam would have to be the place where the horizontal beam intersected with a vertical one.  
Lilo started forward on her knees, unsure of which side was closer, the one behind her or the one in front of her, but too dizzy to care to look behind her. Her pace was slow and yet the dizziness remained as horrid as ever, sending frustrated tears down her cheeks. The creaking of the wood became louder with every second she took to reach the intersection.  
Suddenly, the moans became even more agitated, now mingled with the slow cracking of wood. Lilo noticed this with obvious fright, and nearly teetered off of the edge of the beam. At that rate, the beam would have already split in half by the time she got to the end. The only way is if she walked or ran. Crawling was taking too long.  
So, with several nauseated cries escaping her throat, Lilo attempted to stand, the tears that rolled down her face falling much more freely than before. She wriggled, still unbalanced, and walked forward, the world seeming to spin much faster when she stood. Each step was excruciating, causing more and more dizzying moments with every movement. It was a great challenge for Lilo to ignore the constant spinning.  
Deciding that she's not going to get anywhere with the confusing sight before her, Lilo shut her eyes in hopes it would all stop. The nausea seemed to ebb by a small amount, yes, but it still existed, and not only that, Lilo was blinded and was unsure which movement was real or not. But, steadfast to her judgment, she continued anyway.  
Sightless to the world around her, Lilo found it much easier to confuse the horrible movement of her mind with the movement of the world, and several times, though unbeknownst to her, she narrowly missed a fatal fall. Lilo didn't need to know such things to feel nervous. Her hearing was becoming much keener to the breaking of the wood, and she was not very happy about it. It was frightening and ominous, which was not something that Lilo wanted it to be. Every time it became louder, she neared death. And, as many are aware of, death is one of the most feared of all things for human beings. Suddenly, after several maddening moments, Lilo rushed forward in a fearful frenzy, noticing how much louder the cracking was becoming. She had done away with all cautious behavior or any thoughts of her illness. She just wanted to be safe. If she just ignored the movement and went forward, then she'd eventually reach the beam. This, unfortunately, was as bad a bit of logic as her decision to keep the transmitter unlocked.  
A few steps after she had started her rush, her head gave a particularly violent swing, and, ignoring her logic, Lilo carelessly sped to catch up with the movement. Seconds later, her foot connected with the empty air and she fell, racing toward the floor below.  
  
Jumba and Stitch, meanwhile, stood still in attic, the sounds of footsteps upon the wooden steps below leaving them in a state of panic. Even though they had already sent Lilo through the portal, fully equipped, with her bag of supplies, they were aware of Nani's intelligence. Would it be possible for her to figure what they had done? Perhaps. But more likely not.  
Nani appeared at the top of the staircase, an eyebrow lifted, her expression suspicious. She turned her head from side to side, shifted her eyes in a searching motion, then called out her sister's name yet again. "LILO!"  
Receiving no answer, Nani looked up and noticed the two figures standing across the way, staring at her.  
"Okay, where's Lilo?" she asked accusingly, advancing on the scientist and his creation. The two exchanged a glance, then the large man looked at the woman with a pseudo-confused expression upon his face. Nani's determination did not falter in the least. "Come on, Jumba, where did you hide her?"  
"Who me?" Jumba asked innocently, pointing to himself. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Nani. I have been up here all day perfecting my evil genius invention. Little girl is at school, doing all those boring things that little girls do. Now, why don't you just go down those steps and back to work, yes? I have some more perfecting to do."  
Nani lifted an eyebrow then changed her focus down to the little blue creature. "Stitch?"  
Stitch followed Jumba's lead, pointing to himself then shaking his head in denial. Nani shook her head in disbelief.  
"No, really," she said, "where is she? Don't think you can fool me!"  
"I am not trying to fool anyone!" Jumba exclaimed defensively. "Lilo is where she is supposed to be. I have seen her walk into bus! Do not blame anything on little blue creature or me. We have done nothing wrong! Well, not today. Right, 626?"  
"Ih," Stitch replied, crossing his arms and looking away as if he were offended by the mere notion. Nani crossed her own arms and perused their expressions, before finally turning round and stomping angrily down the steps.  
"I'm checking the school," Nani informed them as she made her way to the lower level. "If I find out she's not there, then you two will be in bigger trouble than you ever had before!"  
Finally, when her footsteps faded into obscurity, Jumba and Stitch discarded their ruses.  
"I doubt that," Jumba said, referring to Nani's last statement. "After all we've done, we'll have to work a lot harder than we have this time to reach that much trouble."  
Stitch nodded, stating something in his native tongue. Jumba nodded, smiling.  
"Yes, that's right, 626," he agreed, "it's not like we killed her, or anything."  
  
Lilo plunged swiftly toward the planked floors that awaited her below, an unexpected cause of death for the young girl. Lilo's once closed eyes seemed to force themselves open from the sudden rush, and she caught sight of her impending death, and the tears that continued to flow now flew upwards above her head. What was happening now? Had she made a mistake?  
That was obvious. Of course she had. So many mistakes in that one day, though some of them may be hidden and others insignificant, but, nevertheless, that was how it was.  
As she continued swiftly downward, the world around her seemed to slow down, as if time were playing with her. Lilo felt herself nearly suspended, the planks pace as they neared her slowed, and she felt the anxiety growing within her as she watched them. But she would not see them for long, for, after several seconds, scenes from her short life appeared before her eyes. Some meaningless, depicting those many moments when Nani and her where fighting, or when they were having a good time together, surfing on the beach, but most of them were points in her life when it took a great turn. Like the death of her parents, her moving in with Nani, her adopting of Stitch (Oh, Stitch! If only he were there now, perhaps she would not be on her way to death! Or at least she wouldn't be alone as it happened), and so many other things that she experienced. The slipping of the transmitter seemed to be a resolute image in her head, appearing and reappearing many times against her wishes.  
Finally, after several more scenes, both nostalgic and horrible, Lilo felt herself quickening, the slow spell finally subsiding. The sudden rapidity of the approaching boards sent disturbed and alarmed chills up the little girl's spine and she felt her reality twisting and writhing as it neared its end. She had been spinning in the air, apparently. She had thought it was all just dizziness before, but now she realized that it was more than that, seeing that the planks were nearing her head, not her feet. And, she knew that it wouldn't end up feeling anymore pleasant in this position than it had the first. Actually, she expected a lot more pain than she would have had she been flipped over onto her feet. If she had been much older, the thought of a quick death would have been something rather comforting, but, being the child that she was, death was death, no matter the circumstances.  
Lilo made an attempt to scream, but realized rather quickly that she had been screaming ever since she had began her fall, and had not until then realized it. She turned away, the tears continuing to fly, her throat continuing to scream. There was nothing she could do, absolutely nothing. She said her good-byes, though she knew that those she attempted to speak to were not, and would not be from then on, able to hear her. As the boards neared, she thought she felt her heart stop beating. Just a little further. Ten feet, eight feet, seven feet...  
Suddenly, when Lilo felt all hope disperse from her body, something seemed to rush from the shadows. With a prodigious exclamation, it jumped, snatching the falling girl from the air, and clutching her tight to its chest. Lilo was dumbfounded. Wasn't she just about to die?  
They both rolled along the floor from the momentum, her rescuer protecting her from the hardness of the floorboards with its large arms. This continued for a few more seconds, then a sudden bump ensued, simultaneous with the sound of something colliding with wood. And everything was still.  
Lilo remained immobile, unsure of what to do, and the creature that now held her seemed to be wondering as well. An awkward silence occurred, both motionless and quiet, the creaking of the surrounding beams the only sound audible at that moment. Lilo felt so odd, obviously anxious, a bit thankful...her emotions a veritable fresco. And a surrealist one at that. So hard to understand.  
Finally, as comfort began to seep in, Lilo began to realize how dizzy she was. Her thoughts before had been so preoccupied with the fall that she had discarded any attention to her nausea. Now that all was quiescent and calm, there was a sudden lurch of her stomach and her queasiness began to reappear. She moaned quietly to herself. The mixture of half-digested soda and chips that she had eaten that morning forced itself upward, burning her throat in its wake. Lilo, who had been holding it in for so long found it hard to continue to do so, and therefore, with little care anymore, she allowed the substance to force itself out of her mouth, onto the chest of her rescuer. It was terrible. Lilo, who seemed to have become so overwhelmed at what had happened, fainted almost immediately afterwards, allowing the regurgitated liquid to run down the sides of her mouth.  
And, inside the bell tower, the groans and complaints of someone that had just been vomited on echoed across the walls.  
  
A/N: Okay, I thought it would be better, but it ended up not as well as I would've hoped. I promise to try better on later chapters. Let me make some excuses: I am currently sick, coughing, sneezing, the works. Every swallow pains me, my head throbs with every movement. My throat is so clogged in phlegm I'm practically breathing the stuff. It's disgusting. So, I've had difficulty focusing on my work. I blame it on Caitlin. But, excuses amount to little, so I'm asking for reviews. Gimme! 


	4. Her rescuer

Chapter 4  
  
A/N: Okeedokee. Here we go. The fourth Chapter, and the introduction of another character. I'm feeling much better now, and, sadly, Fallen Wraith, I do have several spring allergies. I'm better off during the summer than any time else. Well...yeah, that's about it. I THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME REVIEWS! PRESENT ME WITH SOME MORE, PLEASE! ( A'ight? Okay. That's about it. Read on.  
  
Lilo awoke as the sun neared the end of its rise, the wonderful pallet of pastel colors that stained the dawn sky just beginning to fade into the conventional blue. The orange light made its way into the dark tower through a large window, open to the outside. Clouds glided across the sky, their own stark whiteness warped with the rays. The sounds of morning filled the serene air, a mix of breezes and birds. A great contrast to the horror of the night before.  
Lilo remained lying down; resting her head in a pillow that she knew was not her own. For a few minutes prior to her awakening, she had suspected that perhaps it had all been a dream. Her eyes now open, she knew that it was not as she had hoped, but she didn't seem to care too much. She was safe and warm, her whole body cocooned with a thick blanket. Her dizziness had gone away, having apparently found waiting for her to arouse distasteful, deciding to flit off and harry someone maybe more deserving. Her sight had returned, as well as her hearing, and the darkness from the night before was replaced by the coming of dawn. It was still dark, of course. The seclusion of most of the bell tower made sure of that. But it wasn't as dark.  
Lilo decided to remain in the makeshift bed, not wanting to experience the cold of the morning (which she has experienced little more than two times), and taking the time to examine her surroundings. It was a lot easier to see now that there was some light able to filter into the steeple; a lot more than the night had allowed the yesterday. The brilliance of the early morning atmosphere was much more comforting, giving the place much more than darkness and creaks to impress her with.  
She noticed several pieces that seemed to come from humanoid statues, the numerous arms, legs, and heads scattered nearly everywhere around the tower. Even beside her, a hand on an arm was set upward, a candle and its melted tallow set upon its upward palm. The detached heads of several statues stared out from their places upon the boards and among the beams, their gazes stern and unfaltering, as if sternly appraising her. It was somewhat unsettling, but Lilo, who was never a conventional person, just returned these gazes with looks of her own, albeit hers were much friendlier. The whole tower seemed constructed of beams nearly identical to the one yesterday, crisscrossing away, supporting the building. As was mentioned before, darkness still reigned over most of the tower, shadows cast weirdly across the wood. Beside her, Lilo saw a line running from one low beam to the next adjacent to it, a red dress hanging from it.  
Lilo paled at the sight. A red dress. Her red dress. Lilo sat up quickly, and gently unwrapped part of the sheet. What was revealed was not her red dress, which would have been oddly identical to the one hanging had it been, but her bare skin, which prickled upon its uncovering. Lilo gasped out in surprise and pulled the blanket around her once again, looking around self-consciously. Why was she nearly naked? Apparently, whoever had rescued her had stripped her down and put her on its bed.  
Now, I hope that whomever is reading this does not take this badly written statement into some sort of offense. Dirty minds (that means you Glo) that take it and interpret it into something disgusting, I will explain to you that Lilo does not know of such a thing, and will not learn of it for several years, where television will eventually reveal it to her. The reason for her uneasiness was not for such abominable behavior, but was based solely on the fact that she was naked. In addition, there was a good chance someone other than herself saw her in the nude (actually, more than a good chance; she didn't remember unclothing herself).  
There was a chuckle from the shadows, apparently quieted from what volume it would have been, and Lilo turned toward the sound. Upon the sudden movement, it stopped abruptly. Lilo squinted her eyes at the shadows where the voice came from, and she was barely able to discern a figure in the gloom.  
"Hello?" she called out, still gazing into the darkness. "Hello? Anyone there?"  
Silence. Then: "Are you all right?"  
Lilo smiled at the benign voice that responded and calmed. It didn't sound like the person in the shadows would harm her. Why he remained hidden was beyond her knowledge. Perhaps he was shy...  
"I'm fine," Lilo answered, leaning forward somewhat to see if that would improve her chance of seeing him. No luck.  
"That's good," came the reply, relief clear in the tone, along with a barely noticeable sadness that seemed to be hidden beneath it. Lilo smiled modestly, thanking him for his care. After that, none had anything left to say, and a somewhat awkward silence ensued. Lilo took this time to examine as well as she could whoever was hiding. It was more difficult than she would've liked it to be, his dark outline and the shadows encompassing were hard to disjoin in her sight, but she could make it out just scarcely.  
What she saw was a bit puzzling. The silhouette was so oddly shaped! It was very broad, it's shoulders very hard to make out, its knees were touching, and its stance seemed to show that it was a very unsure person. But the oddest thing, she had to admit, was the fact that the uppermost part, which one would suspect the head to be placed, seemed more mountainous than the normal thin roundness of a human skull. She didn't know what to consider it to be, an was a bit unsettled by it, but then thought her observation to be incorrect and pushed it as far as she could to the back of her mind.  
"Are you the one who saved me yesterday?" she asked, wanting to forget the odd-looking creature that she imagined when she first discerned the silhouette.  
"Yes," the voice answered. He seemed to nod as he spoke, a movement noticeable in the shadows. Lilo stared oddly at the figure in the shadows. If it was a nod, which both did and did not make sense, then he must have been very hunched over. The head seemed to be low; it seemed maybe to be set where his chest would be had it truly been a nod. Either this was a very oddly put together man or Lilo still wasn't seeing very well!  
"Thank you," she said. She thought for several moments, wondering what else she might say, wanting to continue the conversation. She looked at him quietly as she thought, then suddenly asked, "Why are you hiding in the shadows?" Instead of an answer, she received one of the harshest sighs that she had ever encountered. It was obvious that she had struck some sort of a chord with him, and she suddenly regretted her earlier statement. There must be a horrible reason for him to be hiding, and it was none of her business for her to ask so.  
"I'm sorry," she apologized, blushing ruefully. "It's all right," he said, in an attempt at reassurance. His voice was very quiet, and the tone of sadness that was concealed earlier was much more distinct to the ear. Lilo frowned sadly. She wished she had never said that. She wanted very much to cheer him up, and it took several moments for her to realize the best way to bring some happiness back into the conversation. Finally thinking of a subject, she cleared her throat and looked back toward the shadows. "Um...Did you take of my clothes?" she asked, blushing.  
There was a silence that followed, and the man answered yes, obviously compressing some laughter. Lilo laughed herself, trying to make the man more comfortable, then she coughed again and asked, "Why?" She seemed rather embarrassed.  
"Well," the man chuckled, not unlike the laughter that had at first brought him to her attention, "last night, before you went unconscious..."  
His voice trailed off and he sounded a bit guilty. There was silence, Lilo wondering what he had meant. It took several moments for her to remember what had happened, and she apologized for her actions. "I can't always control what I do," she explained, embarrassed. The night before, with all its turbulence, had ended for her with her vomiting. Right on him. And, apparently, upon herself. Wasn't that a wonderful way for her to show her gratitude! PUKE on her rescuer! She felt her cheeks burning.  
"Don't worry," he said kindly. She thought she perceived a smile in the shadows. "I've cleaned both of us up. You can get your dress now. I think it's dry."  
Lilo nodded happily and stood up to get the dress, but then she replaced herself upon the cot, thinking (even more than usual, she had to admit). This man...he was a veritable mystery to her. She wondered how he must look beneath the cloak of shadows. Maybe there was a way to make him come out into the light. And, it would be very interesting to find out just why he sounded so depressed about her earlier question.  
"You know what," she said, looking harder into the shadows, "I don't really want to go walking around naked. Why don't you get it?"  
"No!" The voice exclaimed. Lilo lifted an eyebrow. Her rescuer seemed to notice this and he cleared his throat. "No, um, it would be a lot better if you saw if you could walk. You, um, y-you didn't seem to be able to last night. And, besides, uh...You wouldn't have to worry about the whole naked thing...I'll just look away..."  
"No thank you," Lilo said casually. "It would be cold anyway. I could always practice walking when I have my clothes on already."  
"Oh," he said, dumbfounded. He was quiet for several moments, and the creak of the floorboards told Lilo that he was shifting his weight. Was he going for it? "Well, you can go with the blanket to keep warm. I wouldn't mind."  
"Oh, I wouldn't want to mess up your bed," she answered calmly. She was used to such exchanges, having experienced more than her share with Nani. She didn't always win (Nani let go of all logic and just forced her to do what she was told), but she was practically a veteran at coming up with excuses (though not most of them made much sense).  
"Oh, I wouldn't mind," the other said.  
"I would," Lilo said, sounding much harder than she meant, but nevertheless getting her point well across. She suspected that the man could tell after that one statement, but she still attempted to look as calm as she could. The figure in the shadows remained silent, and sighed. Soon enough, the sound of the floorboards beneath his weight sounded, and he walked hesitantly from his cover.  
Lilo was speechless. What was he?  
  
The whole house was in a state of panic. Pleakley, Jumba, and Stitch were rushing around, overturning furniture and yelling out Lilo's name. Nani was driving out around town, searching everywhere for signs of her little sister. Everything had gone wrong! Where was she?  
Nani had checked with the school, and it turns out Lilo was not there. She came to confront the two liars that she had left at the home, and they seemed as surprised as she that Lilo wasn't at school where she was supposed to be. After several moments of examining their expressions, Nani accepted their statement as true and everyone panicked.  
After searching the house, and calling several parents, they determined that Lilo had ditched. Nani declared that she was going to kill Lilo when she was found, but her tremulous voice wasn't very convincing. It was obvious how worried she was.  
Jumba and Stitch looked together in some sort of joint effort, Pleakley detaching himself from the group, a bit uneasy at the fact that she was last with them (which was a bit of information that he decided to keep from Nani) before she disappeared. Seeing that she was not within the vicinity of the household, or at least not where they were looking, Jumba and Stitch returned to the attic and searched for clues there. Something must have malfunctioned in the machine.  
"I'm very sure I sent her to school," Jumba said, scratching his head as he laid down on his back and looked at the mechanics that made up the control board, searching for any problems. "That would have surprised her a lot."  
"Eh," Stitch just muttered, looking around the cubicle of the Dimension hopper. There was barely anything there of interest, just a few burn marks that signified where Lilo had been last standing. He sniffed them with a bit of disgust, and continued his search. A few more mars at the side...Ah, something interesting! Stitch extended a clawed hand and gently picked up a cylindrical piece of metal that lay at the corner of the compartment. It was slightly burned, but didn't seem too warped from its supposed original shape. Maybe it was a clue!  
"Jumba!" he exclaimed, rushing out of the Dimension Hopper, pointing excitedly at his finding. "A clue, a clue!"  
"Excuse me, 626, what?" Jumba said, pulling himself from the inside of the device. Stitch pointed heatedly at the metal. At the distance that he stood, the purple scientist couldn't see just what Stitch was holding; noticing only the long fingernails that held it up. "Yes, Stitch, very long nails. Maybe you should cut them. But later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some tinkering to do. Even evil genius knows when it's right for a manicure."  
Stitch frowned and mumbled.  
"Jinkies," Stitch muttered angrily, pointing a little less enthusiastically at his supposed clue. Jumba sat up immediately at the mention of the word, conking his head against the metal. He gave out a rather vulgar exclamation at this, but soon recovered and rushed to the experiment's side.  
"Jinkies," he said. "Is always what girl in TV show with talking dog says when she finds a clue. What is it, 626?"  
"Thingy," Stitch replied, holding up the metal so that the large alien could view it. The scientist lifted an eyebrow, glancing at Stitch, then took the burned metal from the 'dog's' hand. After several seconds of perusing, Jumba exclaimed yet again (less vulgar, more triumphant), patting Stitch on the head, and telling him how smart he was.  
"What is it?" Stitch asked curiously. Would it help them find Lilo?  
"Is clasp from Lilo's transmitter," Jumba replied, holding the piece up to his four eyes. "It must have broken off during the transferal."  
"Clue?" Stitch asked eagerly. Jumba remained quiet, apparently thinking.  
"Maybe," Jumba said. "We now know that Lilo was not wearing the transmitter properly during the trip, leaving this piece behind..."  
"Where Lilo?" Stitch asked. His eyes brightened up in expectation. Jumba looked down at his creation and shook his head.  
"I do not know," Jumba replied. "She could be anywhere."  
Stitch slumped over, obviously descending back into his state of discouragement, and Jumba sighed quietly. Poor 626. He had supposedly lost his best friend in the jumbled torrent that was space and time. Stitch looked back upwards to the metal piece that Jumba held and grabbed it amidst Jumba's pained exclamations. This stupid thing was supposed to be a clue! But, it didn't help at all! And, with great gusto, Stitch threw the clasp with all his might against the glass of the upstairs window, which shattered easily with impact.  
"626!" Jumba cried, his eyebrows lowered irritatedly. "That was a meaningless bout of destruction that you have just created!" He looked up thoughtfully. "Actually, that was pretty good. Why was I upset anyway? Eh, nevermind."  
Pleakley rushed up the wooden stairs for the first time in the day, his single eye shifting nervously. "What was that?" he asked.  
"What?" Jumba inquired.  
"That sound. That crashy sound thing. What was it?"  
"Oh," Jumba said, understanding, "626."  
Pleakley looked down at the young experiment, shaking his thin head, then soughed to himself, muttering worriedly. Stitch didn't seem to feel very guilty. Upon hearing Pleakley's whispered chastising, he lifted his head pompously, turning away from the thin alien.  
"Stitch," Pleakley said sternly, drawing little attention from the blue creature. "Don't every break anymore glass." Looking up, he searched the attic with his eye. "Anyone find anything useful?"  
"Well, yes and no," Jumba replied. "We found Lilo's clasp, which tells us that little girl was not wearing transmitter. But, it would not help finding her, and 626 threw it out of the window anyway."  
"Transmitter?" Pleakley asked, lifting his eyebrow. "What transmitter? Then again, what was she doing up here anyway?"  
Jumba and Stitch exchanged a look, realizing that Pleakley was not in on the experiment that they were doing. Had it been normal circumstances, the whole thing would have been kept a secret, knowing that the ex-galactic agent, though somewhat less strict on these testing conferences, tended to disagree with the whole thing. Pleakley seemed to understand the fact that Jumba was not as cautious as most when it came to experimentation. But, seeing that Lilo was in more danger than she was usually, the whole scenario needed to be revealed. Jumba sighed, and Stitch grumbled. This was going to take some time.  
"Sit down, my friend," Jumba said, gesturing toward a stool at the corner of the room, "this may take a while."  
  
A/N: Okay. Now that's the end of my fourth chapter. I have something to say to Serendipity 1, if they're reading this. I have come to realize, after your review, that, yes, I do have a tendency toward long words. The problem is, this is how I speak and it is difficult for me to change it, unless I am forced to by the little people at school. I asked three people of random choice what their thoughts on my writing were, and it turns that two out of three agreed to your suggestion. My mother claimed that despite how well I do write, the words tend to be difficult to understand and it takes several moments for her to figure it out, claiming that, in fact, it did disrupt the flow of the story. My sister took a look at your review, then took a look at me, and bluntly stated that I did indeed talk like a forty-year-old (which is a statement that I did take into offense.) A classmate of mine claimed that she liked the way I wrote, but I had a tendency to jumble up too many things into a confusing paragraph. I will try harder to make my writing more smooth, and more concise. I hope that those who read it will find it easier to take in. The funny thing is: I am an adolescent. And I didn't even use a thesaurus! I hope that you won't take anything I have written here into offense, and I hope that everyone will continue reading. Now let me convert to a more modern speak: HUZZAH! NOW I FORCE YOU TO REVIEW! 


	5. Enter Quasimodo

Chapter 5  
  
A/N: Okay, here we go. I will be having a difficult time on this one...I don't know why. I'm very itchy right now, so send me the ointment. I ask for reviews, so please continue reading! Oh, and thanks to everyone, who reviewed, it's been nice!  
  
Lilo's eyes widened greatly once she registered the sight of the figure that stood before her. It was not frightening, not to Lilo, but it was a very...unusual spectacle. She was unsure of just what it was...could it be human? Could it?  
What had appeared from beneath the cloak of shadows was whom we may know as the unfortunate Quasimodo. His eyes were of mismatched size, the left overshadowed by a large bump. His nose seemed squashed, both round and flat, against his face, above his frowning mouth, which was filled with oddly shaped teeth. His head had sunk into his chest, as Lilo had suggested to herself before in jest. His arms were hairy and gorrilla-ish, his legs touched at the knees. He stood with his toes pointing inward, as if he were a very self-conscious person (which made a lot of sense). Despite every deformity of this awkward mess, there was one that eclipsed them all, and that was his back. His twisted spine formed itself into a hump, which hunched the poor man over.  
The man's approach was hesitant and scared, obviously regretting revealing himself once he perceived the look on Lilo's face. It was obvious how much he wanted to return to his place of seclusion, but for some reason, he continued onward to complete the task that he was given, finding no use in hiding if she had already seen his face. Lilo watched him as he advanced, her mouth opened almost as wide as her eyes. Quasimodo did his best to ignore her stare.  
For the majority of the time that Lilo had spent in this New World, she had suspected it was some other time and place on Earth. The humanoid statues that were distributed among the beams of the bell tower had assured her on that. But this person that had stepped from the shadows...well, it was a very confusing thing for Lilo. Once again, a question resounded in her mind. Was this man human?  
Quasimodo finally reached the line beside Lilo and he held the red dress in his large fingers, rubbing the fabric as surreptitiously as he possibly could. It was indeed dry, and, he noted, soft. The material was so different from the one that made up his own clothes and it seemed much more comfortable as well. He did not recognize this fabric. Where could it have come from? Oh well, he thought, it doesn't matter anyway. And he continued to feel the cloth beneath his fingers. After several moments of this, he pulled the dress from the fasteners that held it to the line, his movements oddly gentle, unlike what his appearance seemed to reflect.  
"Are you human?"  
Quasimodo jerked. Lilo, who remained seated behind him, gazed at him expectantly. The question was not very timid (or tactful either), and it seemed to injure Quasimodo inwardly. Lilo fell once again into silence. There was another thing for her to regret.  
Quasimodo glanced back at Lilo, sadness crossing his façade, his movements slower than they had been at first. "I should like to hope so," he replied.  
Lilo lifted her head at the sound of his voice. She had not expected him to answer, but he had, and his response was a bit puzzling. She didn't really understand exactly what he had meant, but she suspected a 'yes' hidden beneath them, and she nodded to herself. So, he was human. Or he thought he was. That meant that there was a good chance that she was still on Earth...but, then, how could a man look like that? Lilo realized that this thought was a rude one, and very closed-minded, but it nevertheless continued to repeat in her head. Was it possible for someone to look that way? Of course there was, Lilo thought. She had to deal with them almost everyday. But those were experiments. Could a human...? Suddenly, a thought entered Lilo's head. Could it be possible that she...? Lilo gulped. Maybe.  
"Here," Quasimodo said, presenting Lilo with her dress. Lilo held on to one fold of the material and stared up into his eyes. He backed off just a bit. What was she doing? Lilo continued this, slowly realizing that despite his appearance his eyes opened up to a human soul. It was a wonder how she was able to tell, but somehow she was. He was human.  
Lilo's gaze startled Quasimodo, and his desire to hide off into the shadows grew more and more. And, just as he felt he was about to do it, Lilo seemed to kneel, supplicating, at his feet.  
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Quasimodo lowered his eyebrows in confusion.  
"What?"  
"I'm sorry," she repeated, her tone much louder than before. "I didn't know that this would happen and I'm sorry."  
"Sorry for what?" Quasimodo inquired, his tone mirroring his confusion. Lilo looked up at him with sad eyes.  
"For giving you the cooties."  
Quasimodo lifted an eyebrow. What? Lilo sighed, and she kept on apologizing. So this is what cooties did to people. It changed them, making them different from everyone else. She didn't know exactly what it changed in her, but she saw what they had done to her rescuer. It made him different. Maybe that's why everybody ran away from her; they didn't want to be like her. They didn't want to be different. They wanted to belong.  
"What are cooties?" Quasimodo asked. Lilo looked up at him. Didn't he know? Everyone else did. Didn't he notice how different he was now?  
"They're little monster germs that make you change," Lilo replied. Her tone was so guilty, her expression so wistful...but Quasimodo didn't understand!  
"Really?" Quasimodo asked, sounding surprised. He checked himself quickly and looked back at Lilo. "I don't feel any different."  
Lilo was confused. Maybe he didn't have a mirror to look into and didn't notice how much different he was now. But, wait, that didn't make any sense! Then why did he hide in the shadows? Lilo shook her head. This was getting harder and harder to understand.  
"But," Lilo said, "didn't you see how you looked?"  
Quasimodo slumped again, and slowly made his way back into the shadows. She had struck another chord, apparently. So he had seen how he looked. He wasn't very happy about it either. Lilo watched him as he walked away, and after several moments of thinking, she called him back to her side. Quasimodo stopped in his tracks, not continuing onward into concealment, but not returning to her. He seemed to be unsure.  
"I told you that I was sorry," she said vehemently. Quasimodo seemed to glance backward at her and another one of the day's many sighs escaped his lips.  
"It's not your fault," he replied sadly, turning back to her and sitting down at her side. "It's not anyone's fault." He looked down at the ground. "I have no one to blame. I am what I am...but sometimes I wish I wasn't."  
"What do you mean?" Lilo asked curiously. "You were born this way?"  
Quasimodo smiled wistfully and nodded lightly, and then pulled himself upward. "Don't blame yourself anymore, okay?"  
Lilo smiled and nodded, receiving a bittersweet smile from her rescuer. Quasimodo continued to walk away, and Lilo was afraid that he might hide in the shadows again. But, obviously, he changed his mind, and she saw him limp toward the light that filtered in through the pane-less window. She kept her eyes on the place where he had sat and pondered.  
So, he had touched her and he didn't get any cooties. Or, at least he didn't look like that. It seemed hours since he had at first came contact with her, and nothing had happened. So these "cooties" were harmless. Something about that both angered her and relieved her. Stupid Myrtle, making her feel so helpless; making everyone run away. But, then again, it's all in life, and she was almost used to it already. She would be alone all together, had it not been for Stitch and the rest of her Ohana. It was just then that she was learning to deal with it. It was nice knowing that she was dealing with absolutely nothing at all, but it was also very frustrating to know that she was forced to deal with it even when it didn't exist.  
Lilo slowly unwrapped herself as she lost herself once again in her unusually deep thoughts. She pulled her dress over her head and pulled her hair out of the collar and smiled. She suspected she was going to be doing a whole lot of thinking today.  
  
Once Jumba was complete with explaining the situation to the panicked Pleakley, Stitch was already near the end of his patience. Poor Lilo, trapped in an unknown realm for so long while the two idiots discussed seemingly irrelevant information. In his opinion, the cross-dressing alien was going to end up retarding their progress, making everything slower and forcing the young Hawaiian girl into more troubling situations (He wasn't very sure about this; it was just a guess). He was just speculating what these might be when Jumba ended the last sentence of his explanation.  
"And, you see, that is how little girl is ending up in this situation," the man said crossing his arms satisfactorily. Pleakley held his chin in his hand, stroking it thoughtfully.  
"So you made her test another one of your potentially dangerous inventions, and something malfunctioned, hurling her into an unknown region of space and time to fend for herself with only a few supplies, some useless?" Pleakley recapped, staring at Jumba with a focused eye.  
"Yes, pretty much," Jumba replied, scratching the back of his head. It wasn't exactly how he described the situation, but it was what happened. Funny how anything can seem horrible if you just changed the wording a little bit.  
"Alright," Pleakley said. Jumba raised an eyebrow. He was expecting the green guy to go running around, waving his hands in the air again.  
"And, you're okay with this?" Jumba asked. Pleakley gave him a look.  
"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Does this look like an empty cranium to you?" he asked, pointing to his head and knocking on the top, apparently ignoring the very hollow sound it emitted. "I'm as worried as anyone else about this whole abysmal situation! It's just that I've tired myself out already. Do you know how much power it takes to run around screaming?"  
"I wouldn't know," Jumba replied. Somehow, he was sure once he got enough strength, Pleakley would act as annoying as he did anytime something went wrong.  
"Is there anyway to trace her?" Pleakley asked. Stitch looked at the two suddenly, his face clearly interested. Jumba noticed this and coughed uneasily into his hand.  
"Well...once again, yes and no," Jumba responded sheepishly. Stitch narrowed his eyes at his creator.  
"Jumba!" he exclaimed, cursing his master in his alien language. Why hadn't he said in the first place that he could find Lilo? '  
"Now, 626," Jumba said defensively, "watch your language. Besides, I am saying both yes and no. Are you needing to get your big ears checked?"  
Stitch went quiet.  
"Now, listen," Jumba began, "I was hoping to avoid any false hope for you, you impulsive little creature. You see, Lilo's transmitter emits a distinct wave, like a radio. This way, it is able to communicate with the main machine, informing it when little girl wants to return to wherever she came from. I am able to trace this wave, but it will take a while, and I am not being sure if it is very useful anyway."  
"Eh?" Stitch inquired.  
"You see, if transmitter did fly off little girl's wrist at last moment, is meaning that it could be anywhere! It may be in the same time, but it may be in a different city, country; maybe even galaxy! And if it is in the same place, it may be in a different time! It is not too likely that it ended up in the same place and time." Jumba sighed. "That is the problem. We could try, and Stitch could search...but I wouldn't really suggest it. What do you think, 626?"  
Stitch slouched and ambled to the broken window at the far wall. As impulsive as he was, he still understood the fact that the odds were against him. Was he willing to attempt something that was seemingly all in futility; blind himself with the hope that he would see his friend again? Stitch looked out at the edge of the hill, where Nani's car could be seen driving up, its driver, though hidden, obviously worried more because of the fruitless quest.  
Watching as she pulled up to the drive, Stitch made his decision.  
"Ih." Stitch walked from the window and up to his creator, determination blazing in his ebony eyes. To forget Lilo and leave her as lost would be the most heartless thing that any of them could do. Stitch may have been an abomination and defected, but Lilo didn't think so. She believed in him and introduced him into her Ohana, despite every one of his violent idiosyncrasies. And, as she had said: Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten. He wanted to help her. He wanted to save her; show her that he loved her as much as she did him. He wouldn't forget her. That was the last thing that he would do.  
  
A/N: Okay, one of the shortest chapters I've written yet. I've tried really hard on this one, and I'm afraid that it might have fallen a few cards short of a whole deck. Well...Tell me what you think. I tried to improve my writing a little bit...eh...I don't know if I did it well... Review, please! (A fruitless attempt at touching moments brought to you by a defective muse!) ( 


	6. Nani's troubles ?

Chapter 6

A/N: I just noticed that I messed up on the fourth chapter... The sunrise is on the other side of the tower, and the sun set is what shines through the balcony window. I know, it's probably insignificant, but still it irks me rather. I mean, I'm not going to go back and fix it (thanks to my laziness), but I want you to forgive me. The dawns and the dusks are going to be seen in the same window. Heh...I hate myself. Oh well...Read and Review. Oh, and Serendipity 1, this is actually taking place a little less than a year before the whole FoF thing. Quasimodo is still 19 years old.

It was already past sunrise when Lilo had decided to leave the bed, now fully dressed and wearing her sandals. The cool breeze of morning that the bell tower was not guarded against pervaded her clothing, which still had a small bit of wetness retained in the material, and she shivered. Now that she wasn't so dizzy (though it was difficult to stand, somewhat), her curiosity toward her surroundings had increased. Everything seemed to hide in the shadows...something that she wasn't quite used to, having grown up in the perpetually sunny state of Hawaii.  
Lilo walked away from the darkness, however, and toward the ever- brightening light that was now making its way across an even larger portion of the floor. This was the last place that she had seen the man walking, though that was about half an hour before, and she wished to speak with him a little more. Her usual prying nature was once again kicking in.  
The suns rays did not reach their usual whitish-yellow color, so it was not too hard to see when Lilo approached, but the objects that stood against the light of the outside still ended up seeming little more than silhouettes. One of these figures, Lilo realized rather happily, was her rescuer, who sat at a table that was outlined oddly in the light. There were several objects set atop the surface of the table and he sat playing with them, but Lilo was unable to discern them from where she stood.  
When she approached, however, she noted with heightened excitement that it was a beautifully rendered city miniature, and the man was toying with several wooden dolls that were obviously supposed to be townspeople.  
"Wow!" Lilo exclaimed. Her rescuer turned swiftly at the sound, his expression one of surprise. Then, seeing who it was who had spoken, he relaxed, but only slightly. It was obvious how uncomfortable he was with her being in the tower, but he seemed to try his best to ignore the fact. Apparently, he wanted her to feel welcome.  
"You're up," he said after several seconds, scratching the back of his head uneasily (which seemed a difficult task taking into account just where his head was located). He attempted a smile, but it ended up just a margin away from what he wanted to impress upon her. Lilo returned it with a smile of her own.  
"Yup," Lilo replied, her smile widening. She approached the table cautiously, despite the fact that she knew she could trust the man, and she noticed that the piece of furniture was just as makeshift as his bedside candleholder. Its body consisted of an array of different sized wooden boards and statue pieces, as well as a basin that was turned over, now used as a leg. The tablecloth was little more than a scrap of crude fabric, spread out underneath the miniature. Lilo peeked her head cautiously over the edge of the table, admiring each of the hand-carved pieces quietly. "Did you make all of these yourself?" she finally asked.  
Quasimodo nodded, deciding to remain silent. It was very strange for him to be in the presence of another human being other than his master and the clergymen, and the oddest thing is the fact that this one did not run away. She was younger than the others, and of a different, supposedly weaker-minded gender. It seemed miraculous to him that she had not yet left the bell tower when she found she was able to walk.  
Lilo looked timidly at the figures. They were simple, yet beautiful, and she had a powerful urge to touch one. She nearly did this, lifting her hand up from its place at her side, but she suddenly realized that this might be something else that her rescuer would be sensitive about and she replaced it. She wouldn't risk it. At least not without permission.  
Lilo looked up at Quasimodo, who had not yet averted his gaze from her, still perusing each of her actions. "Can I touch it?" she asked.  
Quasimodo thought quietly. Should he let her? What if she broke one? Finally, after several moments of deliberation, he nodded his head. Lilo smiled and reached out, picking up one of the women, whose arms were outstretched, a tiny basket hanging off of one.  
"It's pretty," she said shyly. Quasimodo smiled, pleased.  
"Thank you."  
Lilo put the townsperson back where it last stood and coughed uneasily. Shyness wasn't an aspect that Lilo was very used to, but the situation was a bit awkward, and she couldn't help feeling it. She stared down at the ground, as did Quasimodo. None knew what else to say.  
"I forgot to ask," Lilo said, yet again keeping the conversation afloat, "who are you?"  
Quasimodo sighed.  
"You have probably heard of the monster that lives in the bell tower," he said, continuing to stare at the floor boards.  
Lilo's eyes opened wide at the statement, suddenly realizing something. So, he was disliked by other people too. He was even called names just because of how he was, not unlike her and Myrtle's "weird-lo". How was it that these people couldn't understand the fact that even because they were different, they were still human? These people called him monster, for goodness sakes! They were not unlike each other, she and her rescuer. She wanted to find some way to reassure him.  
"Yes," Lilo replied, lying. Quasimodo sighed wistfully. Lilo continued, raising her hands in the air, preparing for some descriptive body movements. "I heard that he was ugly and horrible, casting spells on people when they sleep and giving everyone bad luck. I heard that he scared people and turned them to stone!" She exclaimed, waving her arms interpretively in the air. Quasimodo's eyes were still on the floor, and he seemed to sadden with every word that she spoke. Everything that Lilo said was a lie, but the man was not able to tell, believing everything that the odd little girl had to say. Lilo decided that, after several more insults, it would be best to stop, because it seemed that her rescuer was going to run back into the shadows. "Yeah, that's all I heard about him."  
Quasimodo sighed another harsh sigh, his eyes glazing over with tears.  
"Yeah..." Lilo continued, approaching the man with a gentle smile. "You better be careful. He might catch you and do bad stuff to you."  
Quasimodo began to nod, but halfway through this movement, he stopped, the meaning of her words registering. He looked at her, a bewildered look clear upon his odd face, but all that he gained back was a smile. She looked satisfied.  
"Wait," he said in realization. "You're lying."  
Lilo shook her head vehemently. "No!" she said. But, with one look at Quasimodo's already hurt face, she sighed and shook her head. "Yes...Okay. But I don't think you're a monster, okay?"  
"Why not?" Quasimodo asked suspiciously.  
"Because you're not," she replied. A smile crossed her face, and she put a hand on his leg. "Monsters aren't human."  
"How do you know I'm human?"  
"Can you explain everything?" Lilo asked, her hands on her hips.  
"No," came the reply.  
"Neither can I. I'm not even going to try on this one. As you said, you are what you are."

Quasimodo looked down at her thankfully, but that indescribable sadness still remained surrounding him.

"I wish I could believe that," he said, looking out into the iridescence of the brightening sun. Lilo followed his gaze, perplexed.

"Why?" She asked. "Can't you?"

Quasimodo did not reply, just shaking his head and standing up from his seat and heading to a darker area of the bell tower. But, before he returned to the gloom, he looked back, giving her his name and asking for her own.

"Lilo," she replied.

"Why don't you go downstairs, Lilo?" Quasimodo asked, gesturing toward the wooden ladder that led to lower levels. "I have something important to do."

Lilo nodded and walked toward the ladder as Quasimodo slipped stealthily into the darkness once again.

Nani was more nervous than ever. It was already seven o' clock at night, and still Lilo was not back yet. Her sister may be ridiculous, but she wasn't stupid, and it was just plain absurd to stay out so late into the night. Nani wanted to call the police, but the other three occupants reassured her, and they told her not to do so just yet. They claimed that they were sure that Lilo would arrive soon enough, and she just had to relax and wait for her to arrive. So that's what she did. And, that's what she had been doing for the past hour and a half! WAIT! Soon enough, they had said. Well, this was way past soon enough for her! This was taking forever!

The other three were located in different areas of the household, none of them she was very sure of except for Jumba, whom she could hear lumbering up in Lilo's room. She had hoped ardently that he was searching for clues, but this was soon discarded and replaced by anger when she realized that he was tinkering with one of Lilo's toys. This was not the time!

Despite all anxiety, she remained seated on the couch in front of the television, tremulous with concern. Every minute that passed, she glanced at the clock, then at the telephone that taunted her on the side table. She had to pass the opportunity every time it aroused in her mind. Do not call the police. Trust the others. Do not call the police. Another minute passed. Nani watched the clock with renewed disgust and she felt the sudden urge to grab the piece and slam it across the wall. This was it. She couldn't take much more of it. Why the others wanted to retard their search for Lilo was not something she knew the reasons for, or really cared about at the moment.

She reached for the receiver, determined to have her way. They weren't getting anywhere their way. She didn't have to wait any longer. It was her house after all.

Above, in the cluttered attic of the household, Stitch sat at the control panel, watching it steadfastly, barely even blinking. Jumba had set it to trace the wave emitted from Lilo's transmitter, and Stitch's usual impatience forced him into the position. He made a silent vow to be the first to know where Lilo was.

The process, as Jumba had stated earlier, was rather tedious, wasting their time as it slowly progressed toward the answer. The scientist had said that it would take several hours before it was completed, so it would be best to do something in the long time of wait. Stitch had found nothing to do, unlike Jumba and Pleakley. The Cyclopean alien spent his time caring for his indoor plants, planting and replanting, watering and pruning. Jumba was in Lilo's room, fixing something that Stitch had broken earlier on in the day. Nani was sitting on the couch, eyeing the telephone, and, Stitch was almost sure, conflicting inwardly whether or not it would be wise to alert the authorities of her sister's disappearance.

Jumba had told her not to, knowing that if such a thing were reported there would be police officers searching the whole of the house for clues that none of them had been able to find. There was a good chance they would disrupt the delicate process, and that was a risk that none of them were very keen upon taking. What would the Earth authorities say about the amount of equipment that they had, which were then unknown to most? Stitch didn't really trust Nani on this, but remained quiet all the same, eager to find Lilo.

The progress bar, which was not unlike a loading bar on a computer program, moved slowly on, advancing only several millimeters every hour. They had a long way to go. Stitch groaned angrily and hit his head against the wooden floorboards, grumbling crankily to himself.

This was taking too long! If Lilo was there with him, they would be able to have some fun during this mess, but, seeing how that was impossible at the moment, Stitch was forced to wait by himself, finding nothing to do. He was frustrated. Angry... alone... worried... bored... Five minutes passed and the blue experiment remained on the floor, nearly dozing off to sleep. It wasn't like Stitch hadn't experienced boredom beforehand...it was just no fun alone. Actually, it was no fun at all. It was just not so much so when he had someone with him. He had even considered hanging out with one of the other three during the wait...but that, he realized even before he acted, would change very little. Pleakley, in a lot of ways to our little experiment, was the embodiment of boredom. Jumba, though a little less so, tended to do things alone. And Nani...Stitch was already having a hard enough time tolerating her when things weren't boring.

Stitch scratched an 'S' into the wood beside him with his nail. There was nothing else to do. He might as well go to sleep. He didn't get that much, having stayed up late the night before and forced into arousal by that infernal alarm clock. Yup. That would be okay. Just a little nap... Stitch felt his eyelids drooping and he yawned, curling up into a fetal position, very similar to a puppy dog readying itself for a rest. His vision clouded and he felt himself relaxing. He promised to wake up before the process was complete. He promised.

Lilo stood out in the open air, staring through the hewn designs in the concrete of the balustrade of an outer walkway down at the city below. The sight was very familiar, the picturesque townhouses spread out beneath her creating a breathtaking effect. The pall that the sun cast over the houses was beautiful, the shadows and reflections caused by the rays forming an odd pattern of it.

It was not until several moments later that Lilo realized where she had seen the city before. It was not in a photograph or picture book, but just a few minutes ago, on Quasimodo's table. The miniature and the actual city were very similar to one another, due to the hunchback's obvious creative talent. The only thing missing was the giant H-forming towers that she had seen dominating the table-top. But it didn't matter much to her, and Lilo found herself praising the man even more as she thought about it.

How could such a man be called a monster?

Lilo had tried to do as Quasimodo asked, making her way down the set of ladders and steps that led to where she now stood. She did not know how to get to the main part of the church, the whole setting being alien to her, and her rescuer had not even attempted to assist her in this. She was at first a bit upset about that fact, but then she realized that he must have suspected she knew how to find her own way down, having somehow found her way up. She acknowledged this but still did not realize what to do. So she remained at the balustrade, staring down.

It seemed that much of the city had already woken up, which was an odd thing to Lilo, who was used to waking up much later than she had that day. She saw a few people, very similar to the ones that she saw in Quasimodo's miniature, traveling down the narrow streets that were barely visible between the crowded roofs of the houses. Where they were going, Lilo didn't know. And frankly, she didn't care. It was nice enough to see the workings of the city below, still remaining alien to her.

She still didn't know where exactly she was, and she thought Quasimodo would think her stupid to ask. She didn't want that. She owed a lot to him already. It seemed an Earth city, but, she admitted, it also seemed a bit...unmodern. Every house was constructed of wood and seemed like they would topple anytime soon, and the streets seemed bumpy and uneven, even from the tremendous height that she stood at. Maybe it was Earth. Maybe it wasn't. She didn't know and she wasn't sure if she would ever know. She would have to figure it out somehow on her own, but it wasn't going to be anytime soon.

Just as she was pondering over this, a sudden sound exploded overhead. It was an eerie noise, the clanging of metal and peals of iron ringing out from the tower that she had just exited. Lilo listened quietly to the noise, reminded suddenly of her deceased alarm clock. The sound wasn't annoying, no! It was a pleasant loudness, an aspect to the eerie ambiance that Lilo already felt. Lilo liked it.

After several minutes of the lovely chimes that sounded from the invisible bells, the noise faded once again into obscurity and she felt an odd calm taking over. What was that? She asked herself. She knew that it was the sound of bells, she was sure. But these bells sounded as if they would be moved by a giant. Was this what Quasimodo had said he needed to do? Well...she smiled. She was really starting to like this man.

Lilo decided to continue to search for the way that led to the main hall of the church that Quasimodo had told her to go. She found a wooden door after a while and she opened it, the serene sound of chanting reaching her ears. Deciding that this must be the place, she rushed downward.

A/N: Okay dokay, that's the end of my sixth chapter and I am getting very mad at my computer. The top row of the twenty eighth page keeps sinking into the top! ARGH! I apologize to the reader if there is a section in the story that seems like a sentence or two is cut off because of it. ARGH!!!!


	7. Police?

A/N: Okee dokee...I just want to warn whomever is going to read this that, for some reason or another, I feel like regressing back, at least a little bit, to my original writing style. It isn't too much...I hope...I'll try to take out all the hard words...Oh, whatever. Just read and review.

Chapter Seven

The staircase that Lilo had discovered corkscrewed downward, dim; the only light came from a flickering torch in the wall. Where it led remained unascertained; it was impossible to know where she stood now, the end hidden by the pillar that supported the flight. Nevertheless, with all curiosity, Lilo plunged into the gray shadows that crept across the stone walls. It was not dark, for light filtered in from somewhere below, but it was not light; little could come to a traveler's comfort, for light's inability to fly across the twists of the spiral that the steps created.  
Lilo, who felt little fear despite the gloom, continued onward nonchalantly, maybe even wishing she could whistle, for hopes of making a more carefree, and somewhat stereotypical, impression. Her hands were linked by the fingers behind her back, her head thrown upward toward the ceiling, an expectant smile forming upon her face. Lilo's attention was upon her earlier experience of the majestic, mysterious bells that had rung out; she was admiring them even after their many echoes had died away. Only things of great beauty could have such an effect on a person. Or something vastly horrible. But, let us stay with the former.  
Finally, a wooden door came into view gradually from behind the support, a shimmer of somber, blue light barely visible from a crack beneath it. Lilo stopped for several seconds, listening to the monotone of clerical chants from behind the closed entryway. After a while of this, she opened the door, and the once dim atmosphere was transfigured into a much brighter one. There was another short flight of stairs, which Lilo quickly descended, and finally, she figured that she had reached the main hall of the cathedral.  
Yellow morning light, dimmed by the stained glass windows, lit the sober room, the air full of chants and censer smoke. The place seemed to take on the shape of a cross, the tall walls and ceiling supported by a system of pillars, arches, and buttresses, patterns and designs hewn into the stone. Unlit candles and their iron holders were set at intervals along the church walls and against the granite columns. Pews and kneelers were set along about one-fourth of the vast hall, upon where several groups of people (who in appearance were human to her) distributed themselves. A few statues could be seen against the walls of the edifice, staring down at the people who rested on their knees praying. A man stood at the front in stark white dress; he was a priest who waited to begin his sermon.  
Lilo stared at the scene that was displayed around her for a while, unsure of whether or not she should continue on into the hall. But, after several moments of silent deliberation, she pushed onward until she was no longer hidden in the shadows and instead standing upon the pattern of black and white tile. There could be no harm in it. After all, she had gone down by the request of Quasimodo. They'd have to respect that. It was the only right thing to do, no matter how much they hated it. Unfortunately for Lilo, the parishioners did not seem to possess her type of logic, and did not perceive the situation the same way she did.  
It was not until several moments later, that Lilo realized that everyone was staring at her, the buzzing murmurs of their whispered prayers replaced by seemingly insulting exchanges. She couldn't exactly hear just what they were saying, but she was sure that it was about her. They seemed rather annoyed at her presence in the church, if not angered, and she felt rather irked herself. Lilo turned round, her arms crossed, her expression angered. She did not even think of ignoring them for the better good. Thus is the logic of children.  
"What are you looking at?" She asked rather rudely, staring at them as offensively as they did her, if not worse. The expressions of the crowd instantly changed at her impolite inquiry. Everyone now looked a lot angrier. The whispers had turned into angry mutters, the conversations becoming more and more vehement. Even the cleric standing at the front looked irritated; he had thus far been neutral and patient.  
Lilo stood there for several seconds, doing her best to maintain the threatening expression upon her face. It was a difficult thing, her spite having been extinguished upon the arousal of their anger. She was audacious, but not to the point of risking her neck for something so unimportant. So, after a moment of angry mumbling that she had learned from Stitch, she descended into the shadows with more grace than she wanted to dignify those mumbling blockheads with. But, not without a final angry raspberry. Stupid people.  
"Why does everybody stare at me like I'm some sort of walking germ?" she asked indignantly to no one in particular, running her fingers against the stone bricks of the wall. It was a total unfairness for her to be treated that way. Why didn't they just stare at each other's ugly mugs and leave her alone? Life would be so much better that way. The people who wanted attention would get it. Those who didn't...well, there would be no difference in their lives. Just stay away from everyone else.  
The remainder of the mass continued with little incident, Lilo staying close to the walls as she explored, the parishioners remaining at the lined kneelers, listening to the priest's sermon, which had finally gotten underway. Lilo paid little attention to what the clergyman had to say, finding very little interest in such a thing, and continued to examine every bit of the cathedral she could without gaining an angry word or look. It happened upon occasion that she received one of these, but not often enough for her to care too much about it.  
She wished that Stitch were there with her. Had he been, she would have had someone to talk to about how stupid these people were. No doubt he would be treated the exact same way she was, had he been there. And, even if they accepted him more, she was sure he would still stay around. That was how she dealt with her life as an outcast when she was in Hawaii...but, here, she was unsure if there was anyone she that could connect to in such a way... During one of Nani's little talks with her, she had been taught that there was always someone that would help you in the world. Someone that you could connect with, in other words. Lilo had, then, readily accepted such fluff as reality. But, now that she was experiencing such a thing, she found that little phrase to be much harder to believe.  
Lost in her thoughts, Lilo did not realize how much time she had spent venturing the huge hall of the cathedral. She was standing before the statue of Maria and the Babe when those majestic bells rang out again throughout the cathedral. It signified the ending of the mass, and soon enough, the leering parishioners passed her toward the large wooden doors, now opened, glancing at Lilo as they made their way to the outside world. She watched as they left, ignoring the glances as much as possible, paying much more attention to the setting without the church. The sun was now much brighter than it had been earlier, evident by the golden rays that fell through the doorway, and the sounds of a busy city entered the once tranquil building.  
"I wonder how it looks like from down here," she said to herself, leaning back in an attempt to see more of the outside. A great curiosity took hold of her, and she was even considering taking a step or two outside to see if it was Earth, a thing that had been nagging at her mind for quite a while already. But, despite all curiosity she felt, she remained uncertain if she should do such a thing. The last of the parishioners walked through the large doorways, and the wooden doors slowly began to replace themselves, creaking on their hinges. Several hooded clerics pushed the half-arch timbers back into a closed position, the heaviness making the progress slow. Lilo could go outside now, without drawing the attention she did not want...Moment of on...  
"Hello, Lilo."  
She exclaimed, startled, at the unexpected salutation, her yelp simultaneous with the bang of the closing doors. Lilo glared somewhat spitefully at the closed doorway, then, regaining her composure, she turned to see who had spoken. Her face was, at first, very angry, but it softened greatly at the sight of her addresser.  
"Oh, hello, Quasimodo," she said, coughing embarrassingly into her hand. "Are you done with the thing that you had to do?"  
"Yes," he replied. Lilo looked up at him, playing coyly with the hem of her dress, something that she had never seen or expected to see herself doing in her life.  
"I thought it was really pretty," she said, grinning. "That was you, ringing the bells, right?"  
Quasimodo nodded, a crimson blush creeping suddenly across his pallid cheeks. Lilo's smile widened at the sight of his modesty, and she suppressed a little giggle. As odd as he was, both in body and personality, there was something adorable about him that his face radiated during these several odd moments. It was strange, but nevertheless enjoyable. Very much like several of the experiments that she dealt with in Hawaii. Actually, she looked forward to finding those types of experiments. But, lately, none had been activated, and she and Stitch had been on some sort of a hiatus that lasted for several weeks already. Quasimodo reminded her of them almost uncannily several times during the few hours that she had actually known him. She loved it.  
"Oh yeah," Lilo said suddenly, realizing something. "I just remembered. Why didn't you come down when you were done?"  
Quasimodo just remained in his usual silence, staring quietly down at her, as if unsure of what to say. But, after several moments, his reason came out in that tone of sadness that she now attached him with.  
"Because I'm...ugly," he said. He sounded a bit hesitant to say the word that he had heard so many times before, his shoulders slumping depressingly.  
"Oh..." Lilo said quietly. That. She had almost forgotten. She shook her head, sighing quietly to herself. Here was someone with a self-esteem that would probably burrow down lower into the ground than Lilo had ever ventured. And she had gone pretty darn low.  
As was expected after such a statement, no one was able to find his or her voice until several moments later, when Lilo cleared her throat and, once again, picked up the conversation.  
"Is everybody in this place so rude?" She asked, eyeing the great wooden entryway that those horrid people had exited just moments earlier. Quasimodo's eyes widened in surprise.  
"Did I do anything wrong?" he asked meekly, an apologetic expression clear upon his face. Lilo stared at him for several moments, confused by what he meant by such an inquiry, but then, realizing how it must have sounded when she asked her question, she shook her head vehemently, waving her hands before her.  
"No! No!" she exclaimed. "That's not what I meant!"  
Quasimodo watched her with guilty eyes as she explained herself, and, once she was finished, he had once again regressed back into his initial comfort.  
"Oh," he said, his tone obviously relieved. "I understand now."  
Lilo smiled to herself. Was it her, or did Quasimodo not want her to go away? Well, it was nice to know that she was wanted somewhere. There was another thing for her to like about him.  
"Well," she said, "do you know why they stare at me like that?"  
Quasimodo stared at her; eyes squinted as if in great concentration. Lilo watched him as he circled her slowly, examining her. Lilo lifted an eyebrow. This was a bit...weird.  
"I don't know," Quasimodo replied finally, shrugging his shoulders.  
"Is everyone here so weird?" she asked, now completely confused. Quasimodo's first response was a somewhat odd little sigh, and a plaintive glance toward the great wood and iron doors.  
"I wouldn't know."  
Lilo followed his glance, wondering just why he was staring at the door at such a way. But, before she had the chance to ask, Quasimodo shook his head, smiling in spite of himself.  
"Never mind," he muttered. He made his way across the hall toward the flight that made its way up to his tower home, gesturing for Lilo to follow. Lilo complied, though her pace was slow; she took several moments to continue staring at the door, trying her best to understand. Did those people treat him the same way they did her? She shook her head, nearly laughing out loud. Of course, hadn't she verified that already? His 'monster' nickname, his surprisingly low self-esteem...It all pointed toward a similarity the both of them shared. She already knew that she could trust him...Maybe he was her connection in this world.

A crash amidst the sounds of falling objects and surprised exclamations forced Stitch abruptly out of his short nap. Wiping an ample amount of slobber from the side of his mouth, his eyes opened slowly, and he moaned from an understandable grogginess. What idiot woke him up from his much- needed little doze?  
"Damn it!" someone exclaimed, not taking the liberty to censor his language. "I'm not cleaning up this mess. Little pack rats...Why, you could lose a damn elephant in this cluttered sty!"  
Stitch suddenly sat upright, his large ears pricked suspiciously. The voice was unfamiliar to him...No one in his Ohana sounded like that...

"Don't talk like that, John," another voice said sternly. A strong Hawaiian accent was apparent in his tone. "I know this family. They aren't that bad."

His vision regaining its sharpness, Stitch realized quickly that he was enclosed in a much smaller room than he had fallen asleep in. What had happened? He quickly turned round. The control panel with its abysmally slow progress bar was still there with him, along with the cubicle and other tools of Jumba's trade. It was not until several moments later that the experiment realized that the holo-wall was up. Stitch sighed to himself in relief.

"What was that?" John said suddenly.

Stitch quickly clamped his mouth shut. It wouldn't be a very good thing if these strangers were to discover him and the dimension hopper.

Several seconds elapsed in absolute silence, the people on the other side waiting for another noise to verify their suspicion. But, Stitch wouldn't allow them such a thing. Finally, the strangers shook it off as nothing and the sound of rummaging could be heard through the hologram that separated them from the little blue experiment.

Stitch thought quietly to himself, wondering if there was anyway that he could find out just whom it was intruding upon the progress of the wave finder. It wouldn't be very wise to jump out through the wall to see. He wasn't even sure if it was possible to do such a thing.

Stitch shuffled noiselessly to a corner of the holo-wall, and, as discreetly as he possibly could, he stuck a long nail through the fake image. It passed through the pink effortlessly. Stitch kept all triumphant exclamations inside of himself. Now that was something useful!

626 looked around the disorderly lab, searching for any tool that might somehow assist him in his cause. Screwdriver...wrench...thingamajig...nothing, it seemed, of any use to him whatsoever. But, after several more seconds of looking, he discovered a rigid, plastic pipe hidden beneath the long table that had once carried the equipment that he and Lilo were to use in their exploration of the universe.

Holding the pipe as low to the ground as he could without making it impossible for him to look through, Stitch slowly pushed it through the pseudo-barrier, and used it as some sort of spyglass.

Through the thin tubing, he saw, with a mixture of alarm and anger, two policemen searching through the boxes and chests that cluttered the attic. This could only have meant one thing, which Stitch realized rather quickly, and he began to curse Nani internally. By God, she had called the police. Of all the half-brained, dimwitted...!

Stitch ignored completely the fact that the woman had done what any other human mother-figure would have done in the situation, and also that she did not know anything of what had happened, or what was happening in the mini-lab. It was still her fault to him, no matter the reason. Lilo's return depended solely on this situation!

Several moments later, the creak of heavy footsteps sounded, and Stitch saw the round head of his creator appear at the top of the steps. His expression seemed very hostile toward the intruders; he apparently felt the same way as Stitch about the whole thing.

"As you are seeing, there is nothing up here, absolutely nothing!" he said angrily, putting his two purple hands on the men's backs and trying to force them down the steps. "So now, good bye, go home!"

One of the men rebelled, stepping aside.

"Wait a minute, Mister," he said, trying to avoid Jumba's grab for his arm. By his voice, Stitch realized it was John. "You seem awfully anxious to get us out of here."

Jumba narrowed his eyes.

"Is seeming, Flabby human, that you are implying something?"

"So what if I am?" John retorted angrily.

The second officer looked sternly at his comrade, his expression housing obvious animosity.

"John," he said, grabbing his partner's arm, "that isn't the way to deal with these things."

"I'm just saying," John began, but his associate's gaze seemed to interrupt his sentence.

"Come on," the second said, pulling him down the wooden steps. "We've done enough damage here."

The two officers made their way down the steps, though John proceeded rather hesitantly, still mumbling expletives to himself as he did. Jumba glared angrily down at them until they disappeared, signified by the large alien's cursing and spitting. Stitch exclaimed in triumph. Go Jumba!

"626, are you being awake?" the scientist asked, pulling the button out of his pocket and making the holo-wall disappear. Stitch stood up now, walking out of Jumba's workplace into the attic. Jumba replaced the button into his pocket, his face still angry.

"You must understand now what has happened?" Jumba asked, his eyebrows lowered.

Stitch nodded spitefully.

"Nani."

"I swear," Jumba said angrily, walking to the lower level, Stitch at his heels, "tell humans one thing, they do the other. Is very useful aspect when using reverse psychology, but any other time and it becomes difficult!"

Stitch nodded in agreement. These people! As they made their way down the hall, Pleakley appeared at the foot of the stairs, obviously shaken.

"Eh, Pleakley!" Jumba called out. The cyclopean exclaimed in surprise, but seeing who had talked, calmed down a bit.

"Jumba, there you are!" he yelped, rushing up the stairs.

"Yes, yes," Jumba replied, waving off the statement. "Are those men gone?"

"Yes, just now! They left just now!"

"Good," he said. He and Stitch walked down the steps, their facades seemingly angered and much more somber than usual. "Where is Nani?"

Pleakley pointed toward the living room.

"Why?" he asked. "What are you going to do with her?"

"We are just going to give her a little talk," Jumba replied.

Stitch nodded pompously.

"Yes," he said, his eyes narrowing. "A little talk."

A/N: Okay, this piece of crap brought to you by:  
MIND-NUMBING INSOMNIA! WE'RE THERE FOR YOU ON THOSE WARM NIGHTS! Okay, I know it wasn't that good, because, I didn't spend as much time on it as I would've liked to, and the words ended up yucky and blah...but anyway...READ AND REVIEW! Thank you Fallen Wraith for your review; it's nice to know that I'm writing the part of Lilo at least close to what she really is. After this chapter, though, I'm not sure. READ AND REVIEW!!!!!


	8. Hello, Scrump!

Enter Scrump!

A/N: Alright, I understand that it HAS been a while since I have last updated, and it feels very nice to finally be back. I surprised myself when my writing sort of fell back into obscurity in my schedule, considering the fact that I had that two week period of time that was SPRING BREAK, which, may I add, is OVER! Now I have school and my writing is to be delayed by those little bits (Pfft...Little) of homework that I was assigned by those people of whom I know as my torturers. Well...I also have another explanation, but I'll discuss that later. Read and Review peoples!

Lilo's features lit up dramatically at the sight of Quasimodo's discovery, and a gentle exclamation escaped her lips. She rushed over to the single- strap bag that dangled from the hunchback's large arm, grabbing the pouch and pulling it against her in a relieved embrace. All of her supplies and snacks, everything that she had decided to bring with her when she had originally decided to take on the challenge of inter-dimensional travel, was now here. And, hopefully, they were unharmed, and it would be easier to eke out an existence in this mysterious place.  
"I almost forgot about it!" she exclaimed, grabbing the strap of the bag and attempting to pull it off of Quasimodo's forearm. "Thanks!"  
"You're welcome," he replied, smiling amusedly at Lilo as she tugged eagerly at the bag, accidentally tangling the strap on Quasimodo's fingers. Quasimodo laughed quietly as she growled at the sudden obstacle, and reached in to assist her in claiming her possession. Unfortunately for him, Lilo did not notice his attempt and made her efforts more vehement, pulling the strap tight against his fingers and forcing it painfully into his skin.

"Lilo," Quasimodo said, trying to pull the cord from his fingers; he found it very difficult to do so with Lilo still tugging. "Lilo!" He repeated, his tone a little more annoyed, and his digits working harder to untangle the belt. The little girl was causing his entangled fingers into a most uncomfortable position, and he found himself exerting more energy. Couldn't she hear him?  
Finally, after several more moments of his complaint and her deafness, the bell ringer was able to pull the cord from his hand. Lilo, who still was engrossed in her own endeavor, was unable to notice the sudden improvement of the situation, and gave out a loud exclamation, and seconds later, a strange creak of wood sounded as she fell backwards sharply on the wooden planks.  
"I'm sorry, Lilo, are you okay?" Quasimodo asked, rushing quickly to her side, his expression filled with that familiar worry. Lilo looked up at him with a crooked smile, as if it were half forced, but moaned in pain just seconds later. Quasimodo leant down to help her up, but she just shook her head.  
"I'm all right, really," she said, turning to examine her backside. "My butt broke my fall."  
Quasimodo chuckled, relieved and Lilo looked up at him and smiled. He really wasn't that different when he just smiled and laughed. It probably would be a lot easier for him if he just sat back and giggled a little bit. That way, maybe he wouldn't look so sad all the time.  
Lilo shifted her attention once again back to her newfound bag, placing it with a renewed enthusiasm upon her lap. She unbuttoned the flap and flipped it open, an expectant smile on her face. The inside of the bag was a little more disarrayed than it had been when she had at first stuffed everything in (and that had already been quite messy), but nevertheless, it seemed most everything was intact. The only things that seemed at least a little mussed up were the bags of chips that she had thrown in there, which had all, for one reason or another, popped open, and the couple of soda's that she had kept in there were shaking mysteriously. She was smart enough to know not to touch those any time soon.  
She delved deeper into the depths of her bag, examining and pulling out different things during her search. A pack of crayons along with some paper that she had packed; just in case she wanted to draw during her stay in another realm. She also had several different travel games, unfilled water balloons, and extra clothing.

Quasimodo watched her as she pulled every array of odd items that he had never before set his eyes on before, wondering more and more just where this little girl had gotten all these things. Lilo was odd enough without the sudden appearance of these things. Just where did she come from anyway?

Lilo continued to unpack her bag; still no sign of what she was looking for. Where did that little green thing go? She dug deeper and deeper, until, finally, she found a little white blanket bundled up at the bottom of the bag.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, taking the bundle in her arms and embracing it tightly.

Quasimodo lifted an eyebrow in confusion. A blanket?

"What is it, Lilo?" he asked, seating himself on the floor beside her. Lilo turned to look at him and smiled widely and proudly.

"Scrump!" she exclaimed. As you may imagine, this did not explain much to the hunchback.

"What?" he asked, his tone obviously confused.

Lilo held up the bunch to his face.

"Scrump!" she repeated.

She unwrapped the blanket and slowly revealed, bit after bit, more and more green. And soon enough, Quasimodo was greeted by the sight of a green rag doll, its stuffed limbs hanging limply at its sides. Lilo once again pushed it up against his face, and he stared quietly at it as its button eyes and stitched face stared blankly back.

"It's my doll!"

Quasimodo continued his bewildered gaze, then, for some reason, reached out a hand, taking the thing into his own possession.

"I made her," Lilo added, a smile creeping across her face as she watched him examine Scrump closer.

"Oh," Quasimodo said at the bit of information. He looked at the strange toy. "It's very creative, Lilo."

"Thanks," she said, not noticing how Quasimodo had slowed down his speech, perhaps to weigh his words (when you can't say anything nice, say something vague). "You know, you're the first person ever to say something nice about her."

Quasimodo smiled quietly to himself.

"Except for Nani," she said, thinking quietly, her expression suddenly changing. "But, you could tell that she only wanted to be nice, and she really thought it was ugly. But I never told her that."

"Who's Nani?" Quasimodo asked gently.

Lilo sighed harshly.

"My sister."

Quasimodo was a little surprised at this statement, having not known for until then that his new friend had a sister. He wondered why she seemed so sad at the mention.

"Is there something wrong, Lilo?"

"No," Lilo said, shaking her head without a lot of enthusiasm. "I just don't want to talk about her just now."

"Why?" he asked her, his big eyes glittering with concern for her. (Bad writing)

"We had a fight," Lilo answered, looking down on the floor. "She didn't really trust me, and I think that she's mad at me. I was mad at her, too. But not now."

"Why don't you tell her that?" Quasimodo suggested.

Lilo shook her head.

"No, I don't want to," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because..." she started. She was silent for several seconds, as if thinking up her response to the question, but ended up just sighing and looking down at the floorboards.

"Just, because."

Quasimodo was silent for moments afterward, but then shrugged his shoulders acceptingly and watched her as she transformed her usually bright figure to a dimming sad one. He was concerned, yes of course, for his little friend, and felt for her when he saw her show such sadness as she did him. His silence showed that he was compassionate enough to realize that he should further delve into the details of Lilo and her sister's fight; it didn't mean at all that he stopped thinking about it. What could cause such a happy little girl (which is what he supposed) such sadness? He found himself becoming a bit biased toward Nani for doing whatever she did to Lilo, even if he didn't know just what it was. Why would anyone want to make anyone else unhappy?

Lilo lay staring up at the ceiling of crossbeams and open windows, thinking nearly the same thing, though her point of view was a bit changed by her knowledge. She understood how and why Nani acted in such a way, she knew that it was a bad thing for her to skip school just because nobody liked her; she also understood how Nani still loved her, and was just thinking about her welfare. But why did she have to be so mean? It probably would have ended up a lot better (or at least more in Lilo's favor) had she told her what was ailing her so much. But she forgave her, nevertheless. Why she did not want to tell her, even if she did have to opportunity, was quite simple to explain. Though Lilo was usually rather proud of herself for learning a lesson at the end of the day, admitting herself wrong to Nani was like admitting defeat in an ongoing war. She didn't usually admit she learned something until Nani apologized first. At that time, Lilo had already won the battle.

Her eyes closed for several seconds, and she attempted to redirect her thoughts on something else. It was a difficult thing; it was obvious how much she missed Nani and the rest of her ohana. But she somehow managed to anchor her attention on the bag and how Quasimodo had found it. She had almost forgotten about it, what with the plunge and having found herself in a world that may be alien (which reminded her, she wasn't completely sure if she was still on Earth or not), and she was almost completely sure that she had not had it while she was teetering on the beam. Or when she was in that hellish tunnel for that matter. But, she was sure that she was wearing it when Jumba had forced her into the Dimension Hopper. That was weird. It must have come off when she was thrown in... But then how did it end up with her in the world?

Lilo's eyes fluttered open at the appearance of a thought. What if the transmitter had come along with the bag? She had lost the little metal band just moments prior to losing the bag, so, even if it was just a bit earlier, wouldn't it be very possible that it had somehow found its way into this world?

Quasimodo watched as Lilo sat motionless on the floorboards, wondering if, perhaps he should leave her be; she seemed so upset when the subject of her sister had come up. He shrugged quietly to himself, leaning forward to pull himself into standing, when he felt something grabbing his arm before he could get up. He turned to look at what it was and saw Lilo holding onto his forearm.

"Quasimodo, wait," she said.

He replaced himself on the floor.

"Yes, Lilo?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"I wonder," she started, "if maybe you found a little metal thing that can fit around my wrist when you found the bag."

"Do you mean," Quasimodo asked, lifting an eyebrow, "a bracelet?"

"Yeah!" She said. "A bracelet. It's silver and it has a little green thing on it with numbers and words."

"Alright..." he said. "But, no, I didn't see anything like that. Why, did you lose one?"

Lilo sighed, nodding.

"Well, keep your eyes open for it, okay? I really need it."

"Okay..."

Lilo's eyes lit up for a second, as if another idea had come to her.

"Quasimodo," she said, "where did you find it, anyway?"

"Just beneath the beams where you fell..."

"Okay," she nodded. "And that would be where?"

Quasimodo gave her a curious glance, but he pointed to the right, where a lot of the tower was shadowed by beams and statues. Lilo thanked him politely and stood up, replacing everything in the bag, and heading toward where he had pointed. Quasimodo was confused by the whole thing, but did not ask a single question afterward, just holding out Scrump so that she could reclaim the little doll.

Lilo shook her head.

"You play with her," she said.

And, before Quasimodo could say anything more, she disappeared into the gloom. Quasimodo pouted somewhat, but then just shook his head, and, with Scrump hanging from one of his large hands, he headed to his miniature.

Noon was approaching, and the sun was now shining right above in the pale winter sky. The pallid rays shone upon the little city upon its table, where the modest wooden dolls stood smiling agreeably and one another. Quasimodo's mouth curled pleasantly at the sight of his toys; he loved them that much, for they were his own creations. Like they were his children.

He brought Scrump over to the little table and set her down to the side, leaning against the model of Notre Dame. His own little doll, its one open eye staring at the townspeople grouped around him. Quasimodo grimaced just a bit at the sight. It was his fantasy to be surrounded like that, and not secluded in the bell tower; maybe that's what made the sight so unnatural. It didn't make sense. There was still a feeling of alienation in the scene. But, it had never been that way before, which made it ever the more stranger.

"I wish this made sense," he whispered to himself, sitting on a stool set near the table. He stared at his models for moments in silence, trying to contemplate the difference. It was not until several minutes later when he remembered Scrump, sitting alone in the shadow of the wooden cathedral, staring expressionlessly into space. Something about that odd little rag doll changed the whole ambiance of the miniatures. Why? He was unsure just why. There was a lot he didn't understand, especially at the arrival of Lilo. He stared at her quietly. It just felt weird alienating something like that from the crowd while he got to stand in the center, surrounded by smiling people.

He sighed, picking up Scrump and staring into the buttons that were her eyes. There was something familiar bout the notion. Quasimodo smiled at the thought. Something very familiar. And, with a great smile, he picked up Scrump and placed her beside him in the center of the square. Perhaps he wasn't too different from everyone.

Stitch did not have any problem admitting the fact that when Jumba had said "a little talk," he had expected more that just a little talk. And, he thought bitterly, much more than just sitting in the living room, letting Nani have her say while everyone just sat in silence, waiting for her to shut up. All this Stitch had no problem admitting. But, unfortunately for him, at the time he would have to admit everything to himself.

One way or another, Pleakley had convinced Jumba to allow him to do the talking to (which was now and always a BAD idea), and now they were stuck grumbling to themselves while Pleakley tried to stutter in a word or two when Nani took a breath from her seemingly endless tirade. It was horrible.

"And, I don't know why any of you are making such a deal out of it, but I think that what I did was a good idea, and you can try to convince me other wise, but I don't think it's going to work!"

There was a silence following, and Pleakley jumped when he realized that the woman was finished.

"Yes," he started, "but we want to know why you called the police!"

Nani groaned at Pleakley, joined by Jumba and Stitch, when they all realized that the one-eyed alien had not listened (well, not very well) to what Nani was rambling on about.

Stitch was annoyed more by the fact that he thought that maybe she would restate the whole thing so that Pleakley would understand. And, he did not want that happening again.

"Pleakley," Nani said, rubbing her temples in annoyance, "you are so dense."

"Well," he said indignantly, putting his hands on his waist, "that's just rude!"

"Since when were you a master of etiquette?" Asked Nani sarcastically, though she did know that she was in fact being rather impolite. But, she didn't care.

"Always!" he retorted. It was somewhat true; he had read several books on the subject. But, most of the time it occurred that he didn't completely understand it!

And, Nani, with the bitterest of her voices, announced this to the cyclopean, receiving little more than just flustered stutters from him. Jumba grunted, half-laughing at the sight. Stitch glanced at his creator and smiled wickedly to himself. Served the idiot right for taking the polite route. If it had been up to him, why, Nani wouldn't get a chance to speak. At least not until he was done forcing her to understand. It would be a lot more direct. And, Stitch added to himself, smiling maliciously, a little bit more violent if you know what I mean.

"You just don't understand why we don't want you to call the police!" Pleakley exclaimed, his eyebrow lowering in frustration.

"Then why don't you tell me?" Nani asked sitting up straighter. Pleakley stopped suddenly. Jumba's eyes opened wider. Stitch's ears pricked up. A feeling of tension filled the room.

"Well?" The other three occupants of the room stared expectantly at Pleakley, waiting for his answer. Nani did not know a thing about Lilo's excursion into the unknown. Would he be stupid enough to reveal to her the fact?

This we shall never know, for before Pleakley could speak, a loud siren blazed throughout the whole house, forcing everyone to plug their ears with one thing or another (except for Pleakley. No Ears).

Jumba stood up, heading toward the staircase and motioning for the other two to follow him upstairs. All but Nani, who did not know what was going on, stood up and made their way to the attic. Stitch was the first to reach their destination, and the first to jump in through the holo-wall to the workplace beyond. The dimension hopper's control panel was beeping horribly, the loading bar flashing green.

"As I have suspected," Jumba said, yelling over the noise. "It is complete!" The purple alien stepped forward and, flinching for a moment as his hand left his ear, pushed a green button adjacent to the screen. Typing in several things in the keyboard, he flipped a switch and suddenly the screen blanked into darkness. Stitch, who was afraid that perhaps they had lost the information, made a rude exclamation, and was quickly shushed by Jumba and Pleakley. Soon afterward, the screen reappeared, this time filled with words.

"There you go, 626," Jumba said looking pleased upon the screen. "There is where the little girl's transmitter went." Stitch hung over the screen from his place on a black stool, the sight reflecting across his eyes.

Paris, 1481, February twenty-eighth

A/N: Okay, there was the chapter! I hope it ended up well; I'll never be sure until you tell me! So review. Now, I just want to tell you just why everything about writing seemed to disappear from my view for several weeks. Okay, now, I have an acquaintance (I shall not reveal to you their name), read my story. They seemed to enjoy it, and I liked how they told me what they thought (not in the reviews). But, then, they said: "I noticed some subtle romantic themes between the two characters; are you going to make something with it?" I said nothing to them then, but inside Mr. Nieby (my muse) was asking me, "subtle romantic themes? Where?" I'll assure you, the same question came into my head, and I spent several days thinking over what she could have meant. Can any of you point out to me where anyone seems at least a little romantic in this story? Okay...Well, bye now. Read and Review, Mes Amis!


	9. Old Mathaias

Stitch's Trip

A/N: I know it's been forever, but I'm back. After some...unimpressive work, I've decided it's time to come back to my first. Okay, finally, the loading bar is set up and Stitch can get back in the past to find Lilo! Wouldn't that be great? Okay, well, I'm actually putting in my absolute favorite character in this chapter, though I was expecting him later on in the story. But, I couldn't help myself, so I'm going to cram him in there as much as I can! "Giggle"! Okay, now let's get this started. Read on, and please review!

Stitch's ears perked up excitedly at the news, his nose twitching happily at the prospect at finding his long lost (well, sort of) friend. He had missed her so much over the past few hours, not to mention every bit of worry and horrible, horrible pessimism that had infected his mind during the wait. That stupid loading bar was actually filled, and now, they knew exactly (or so he hoped) where little Lilo may be. He crawled off the black stool from which he sat, running with the greatest of spirits toward the table where his equipment was.  
"626," Jumba said, grinning grimly at the little creature as he hurried in preparation, "I am seeing you are ready to get our little girl back, yes?"  
626 nodded briefly, a sharp jerk of his head. Apparently he was too preoccupied with what he was doing. Jumba nodded back to him, though I doubt Stitch noticed (or really cared for that matter), and the scientist turned to the panel before him, typing in certain keys and pressing every other button on the board. The chamber in the center of the makeshift laboratory, which had been shut down at the disappearance of the little girl, hummed suddenly back to life, the little light bulb set in the center of its low ceiling blinking on.  
Stitch was taking longer than he had at first with his equipment, for he was planning on bringing much more than just a silly translator in his ear. Such a preposterous action when stepping into the unknown! No, he was planning on bringing as much of an arsenal he was allowed, fitting himself with several belts with holsters all across the front, and placing a plasma gun and a grenade into each of them he could. Pleakley watched the experiment from across the room with distaste.  
"You don't need all that, Stitches," he told the little creature, stepping over and attempting to pull a net-gun from one of the many holsters. Stitch fought back successfully, sending the cyclopean to the floor and explaining to him the supposed dangers there may be to experience. Pleakley scoffed the thought.  
"Apparently you haven't heard of Paris before, have you?" he asked with a tone of superiority and annoyance. Stitch growled at him, but then grumbled out a "no".  
"It's the city of lights!" Pleakley exclaimed. "It's beautiful! Several of the structures there are famous, like that pointy tower thing and that really big church! It's in France."  
Stitch raised an eyebrow. "France?"  
Pleakley nodded. Jumba stopped his work at the panel. "You are meaning France, Earth, right?"  
"Of course!" Pleakley exclaimed. "Where else would it be?"  
Jumba shrugged at the question, "I am not knowing." He stopped to think for a moment, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Is dangerous?"  
"NO!" Pleakley replied vehemently. "It's one of the most feminine places on Earth, actually!" he sighed and put his chin in one of his palms. "I wish I could go there."  
"Naga!" Stitch exclaimed angrily, claiming that it was he who was going to France to save Lilo, and that Pleakley would have to find another feminine place to fantasize about because he wasn't going! Pleakley just stared down distastefully at the protective little alien, telling him that he wouldn't go to France in one of Jumba's inventions, especially one that has thus far proved a danger to little girls. Stitch just scoffed. Whatever.  
But, despite all of his anger, he pulled off the belts from across his chest, throwing the weapons and their holsters on the floor in the corner. Pleakley watched as the little experiment did this, eyeing the guns and explosives with a certain discomfort.  
"Where did you get all of those, anyway?" he asked, coming to lean over the arsenal. Stitch looked up from his work, looking straight at the cyclopean, and then shifted his sight to his creator. Jumba stood behind the control panel (and out of sight of the ex-galactic agent), waving his hands before him quickly, shaking his head side to side. Stitch nodded quietly, then shrugged at the noodle-man before him. He didn't need to know anything.  
"Are you being ready, 626?" Jumba asked, clearing his throat. Stitch nodded, racing anxiously toward the cubicle in the center of the room. "Remember this," Jumba said, pulling on a pair of goggles, "I am giving you only three days to find little girl. Remember. Three days only, yes?" Stitch nodded, knowing that Nani would probably become suspicious otherwise. He pulled open the door, and stepped in, his heart palpitating with obvious excitement. Finally, he would find Lilo. Finally, this whole thing will end. And, last but definitely not least, Nani will shut up. That was, of course, only if Lilo was where the transmitter was. But, Stitch forgot all about that.  
Jumba typed in the coordinates and readied the machine for the second travel of the day. He signaled to Stitch that the process was to happen in only several seconds more, and the little alien nodded, giving him the clawed thumb's up. Jumba looked back down at the panel, his face concentrated, and he put up one hand, holding up five fingers...four fingers...three fingers...  
Stitch stared down at the scorch marks left by Lilo's earlier excursion. He hoped greatly that everything would go as planned (as he planned to be more precise), and his best friend, the closest member of his Ohana, would be with him soon enough. Jumba's hand was now balled into a fist, signaling the last of the seconds gone. He pushed the red button on the control panel and glanced at Stitch as the little alien stared forward out of the glass window set in the door. A moment later, with a single flash of light, he was gone.

The sky of the plains just outside of Paris was the brightest of blue, and the cotton-white clouds floated lazily in the winter morning sky. The grass rustled with the passing of the wind, which blew lighter and cooler than it had only the day before; why? No one knew. Why? No one cared. It was a natural thing, and it was a belief that one imposed God's wrath (or some believed) to question it. Besides, such a trifle as the wind and its conditions and patterns fazed only a small amount of people; what did it matter to them if the breeze chose to be cooler?  
No one was visible upon the grassy expanse; the only life other than the flora of the wilderness was several gophers and insects that drew about as much attention as the wind that morning. Of course, several things may have been hiding in the grassy knolls that dotted the landscape. But, to those who were not searching for a hidden being in the outskirts, the field was practically empty.  
The blue sky was absolutely still for several moments that winter morning; neither bird nor bee seemed to stir the air around. Nothing but the wind. Everything seemed motionless excluding the wild grass, disturbed by the breeze. Something about the whole thing was unnatural. And, one would have to admit, rather ominous.  
Suddenly, above the ground at a height of about two stories, a large explosion sounded, sending more air streaming out in irregular currents and forcing the little creatures scurrying about the ground either into their burrows or up into the sky. Both were heading for safety.  
From the sky, with a pained grumble, something small, furry, and blue fell the twenty feet from the explosion's area down to the Earth below. The ground shook horrendously as it made its collision, and a small system of cracks appeared, streaming outward from the impact. Clouds of disturbed dirt flew up into the air, staining the surrounding area brown. And, soon enough, everything resettled, and the frightened squawks of birds disappeared with the breeze.  
With an irked groan, Stitch sat up from his spot in the center of the cracked ground, rubbing his head, his fur stained brown from the earlier impact. He rubbed the top of his head, where he felt a large bump that thumped to the beat of his heart. Darn it, that hurt! He would have to inform Jumba about how dangerous that was right after he mangled him for causing him pain. He let out another moan of pain. No, he thought. He would tell Jumba right after he beat him to an inch of life. If the scientist was still able to hear, that was.  
After several moments of recuperation and regaining his senses, Stitch shook his head and opened his eyes wide to take a look around. All that surrounded was nothing more than a grassy expanse, with several small hills appearing at the surface every thirty feet. A sky of blue above and stalks of swaying grass below, with little in-between. No life. No Lilo. Cru de tay! She wasn't here!  
Stitch walked forward to a grassy knoll, taking glimpses about him to make sure that his friend wasn't there. And, perhaps, to find that transmitter, though that wasn't really the first thing on his mind at the moment. What he really thought about was his little friend, and how he was really going to kick someone's butt when he got home. Lilo was supposed to be here. So where the heck was she? His eyes scanned the great horizon. Nothing. Not a single form of life could be spotted anywhere in this plain, and Stitch was too aggravated by the horrible pain on his head to really care about any sounds of movement. Besides, the grass seemed to keep swaying, which didn't help at all, to be truthful. His keen hearing made his headache even worse.  
He looked, grumbling sourly over his breath, out to his right, his hand set over his eyes to block out the pale sunlight that shone into his eyes. The green stalks waved to and fro, and, with after several seconds of staring outward bitterly, Stitch noticed something gleaming a bright green among the darker shades. He blinked quietly. What was that?  
The experiment rushed forward to where he had spotted the glint, his heart beating faster. As he neared the spot, the faint sounds of beeping reached his ears, and soon enough he was leaning over a glowing metal band. It was scratched and damaged just a bit around the edges, but not too much harm; everything seemed to be working properly. The screen showed everything from the time to the coordinates, even right down to the exact date and hour that it had left home. Stitch lifted it up from amongst the blades, hanging it before him with a sense half of triumph, half of bitter disappointment.  
Though he had the transmitter now, Lilo's area was still rather obscure. There was a chance, perhaps, that she was just several miles from the spot, but what if she wasn't? What if she was lost in some unknown time and place that was only barely connected to the transmitter? With a groan and a sudden shaking of his head, he pushed as many of these pessimistic thoughts out of his immediate concerns. If she wasn't there, then that was a problem, but until he was absolutely sure, he would forget it all and search. Being a worrywart wasn't going to help anything.  
Suddenly, Stitch lifted a pointed ear up to the passing breeze. He squinted his eyes suspiciously. He could have sworn that he had heard something in the grass...of course the wind wasn't making the thought much easier. But, then again, the noise was unnatural. It was too solid to be the wind, and too heavy-footed to be one of the animals that would by chance be living amongst the grasses of the plain. He sniffed the air. It smelled like man.  
Before he could react to this new discovery, a sack was thrown over him and the sound of a victorious exclamation rang in his ears. Stitch snarled and clawed, tearing little holes in the material that kept him inside. But, nothing more could be done. Stitch stopped for a moment, still growling, but eyeing the brown material bitterly. A great brown eye appeared, glancing in at him through one of the tears that he had created.  
The person that held the sack clicked his tongue in mock disapproval.  
"The little creature would not be able to break through the sack!" said a raspy, old voice. "It's old Matthias's material. It's nearly unbreakable!"  
Stitch scoffed the man's words, cursing in his alien language under his breath. He clawed the thick fabric yet again, creating yet another tiny tear. A mere grain in a dune of sand.  
The chuckle rang out again.  
"Little creature has to learn to listen, doesn't he?" came the voice, and Stitch cursed him inwardly. It wouldn't be very wise to reveal his blessing of speech, he realized.  
The man (for it as a man) swung the sack over his shoulder, and Stitch felt himself bumping against something horribly bony, which he suspected to be his captor's back. There was a slow movement as the man carried him on his way, whistling a loud jumpy tune that Stitch didn't like too much. The experiment continued to growl, but then allowed the man to take him. When he took him out of the sack, then he would attack and run off to hopefully find his little girl. He didn't have time for this.

Clopin stood atop the great painted roof of his caravan, reenacting a scene from one of his latest stories. A throng of children clustered about the wagon, eyes wide open in curious wonder at the man before them who was singing and flipping with supposedly infinite energy. The gypsy was talking to two puppets that he had in his hands, one a real facsimile of his own face. The story I shall not now record, for it has been to me forgotten, but one should note that it was as good as every one of his stories always are.  
Clopin was feeling slightly troubled that day, though it didn't seem so much when he was doing his "job". His flips were just a little less spirited as usual, and his singing, though magnificently spectacular (like always) was slightly duller. But it was unnoticed by the children who came to be swept away by his tales of fancy, much to the gypsy king's comfort and he kept on his way as usual.  
What was harrying him so much lately was of little consequence, nothing more than just a bit of a creative speed bump in his story making. He had been thinking over the lyrics and all, the scenes and how to portray them. Usually it was rather easy for him; he had a talent for such things. But this, based on a supposed true story, he found difficult, and was unable to draw any inspiration from the great sights of Paris, where the tale had taken place. But, then again, whenever he had found himself in ruts like so, he would be able to pull himself out sooner or later. There was little use worrying about it all the time. The best inspiration usually came when he wasn't thinking about it. 'Besides,' he would tell himself, 'what does it matter to feel such a way? I'm not a playwright or anything like that."  
Clopin and his caravan had come into Paris only a few weeks earlier, new to the sights, but familiar with other gypsy convoys that had passed through. He wasn't too well known yet, though there were several children grouping themselves before the open window of his wagon that were beginning to become familiar with his face. As usual, the residents of the supposed "modern city" respected his race little, but there was a sort of tolerance to their being. Clopin and his troupe took residence in the gypsy hideout known non other than the Court of Miracles, infamous to everyone but its location known only by those fortunate (or unfortunate in some people's views) to be of gypsy race or descent. Living below the surface was a bit suffocating at times, but Clopin guessed that he would grow accustomed soon enough. He and the rest of his family had experienced less hospitable conditions.  
As his story came to a musical close, and the children flipped coins into his wagon by use of the window, there was the sound of a starting uproar coming from around the corner of one narrow Parisian street. It was as if all people sounded a bit irked, sounds of women gasping and men yelping, some even going so far as uttering several swear words. Clopin flipped off of the roof of his caravan, the children disappearing around the bend to see what was taking place. He lifted one masked eyebrow, leaning over and walking forward slowly to see what all the hubbub was about, not having so much luck seeing how his neck wasn't that long. But it wasn't long before the reason appeared, whistling an old vagabond tune, the same mischievous smile taking his leather-like face.  
"Matthias," Clopin said, smiling and shaking his head at the same time. An old uncle of his, taken into his troupe when his cousin had discovered a dislike for the impish old codger. Matthias was truly a sight to behold, his thick skin as tight as a drum's hide and blackened by years under the merciless sun. He was clothed in little more than what appeared to be a bag, created by different patches of cloth picked up over the years and sewn together. An old stitched up rag that resembled a nightcap wrapped his head and he was barefoot. He resembled a black, smiling corpse.  
"Matthias, you old fool," Clopin yelled out in a teasing sense, "who did you kill to cause such an uproar?"  
The old gypsy glanced up, the smile on his face ever widening at the sight of his nephew.  
"I've killed no one, you see," he said. "The sack is still moving!" He gestured to the old sack he had slung on his back, supported by one bony shoulder. It was wriggling and growling with a wild passion, every once and a while creating several tears along the thick fabric.  
Clopin raised an eyebrow, approaching his uncle curiously.  
"What have you got there, friend?" He asked, staring, interested, into one of the many rips. He could not catch much of a sight other than a glimpse of blue fur. He straightened out, scratching the back of his head questioningly. Blue fur? He looked up, wondering just what it was that his uncle had chanced upon. Behind them, he saw a gathering of many Parisians, children, men, and women, blocking the one street his uncle had come through. Though they looked as curious as he was, they kept a safe distance from the old man. Clopin wondered if it would be appropriate for him to do the same.  
Matthias took the bag, swinging it over his shoulder roughly onto the cobblestone-paved streets of Paris. There was a loud, unpleasant thump, followed by a shocked silence, as if the thing that had been forced into the pack was unsure of what just happened. Seconds afterward a pained and annoyed moan came from the sack. Matthias chuckled aloud, pulling a length of rope from some unknown hiding place beneath his clothing. Clopin watched interestingly. Bracing himself with the rope in two withered hands, Matthias lifted a foot to the opening of the old sack. With monkey-like movement and agility, he pulled down the end of the bag and rushed forward with a prodigious yell.  
From within the brown, ripped confines of the old thick sack a strange blue creature started forward once the edge went over his body. It shot out with spectacular speed, unnatural some might say, as quickly as an arrow released from the bow. The crowd behind flinched and gasped with surprise. Clopin, though a little startled by the sudden speed, reacted a little more helpfully, leaping forward with a fantastic speed of his own, gained by years of prestidigitation and gymnastics. The creature barely evaded his gloved fingers, and escaped with a few blue hairs left in the black palms of the gypsy king. It was growling and heatedly angry. It jumped onto the wooden supports of a surrounding building and climbed upward as if it could not fall. It stopped for a moment, far from the gypsy king's reach, and sniffed the air, glancing downward at those that stood, shocked, below.  
It was then that Clopin got a first good look at the odd animal. It resembled something of a rabbit, with long ears sticking out of the side of a half-circle head. But, very un-rabbit-like, it had inch-long claws at the end of four short fingers; these were what supported him so well on the wood. There was a look in its beetle-black eyes, glittering with a vengeful light, glancing angrily from him to those who stood in a frightened group yards away, then to the old man, clutching a length of rope in his blackened hands.  
When the creature had gotten a sight of the old gypsy, he growled viciously and leaped downward from his spot and rushing forward, as if the fall had not affected him in anyway. He rushed toward Matthias, angry with the man whom had caught him and bagged him like little more than a loaf of bread. The old gypsy grinned with a youth that was hidden within by his own withered figure, tightening the rope as if he were mocking the animal. As the blue-furred creature rushed, brandishing a malicious claw, Matthias took a stance, bracing himself. Clopin ran to the old man, unable to match the beast's speed, worry taking every bit of his agreeable countenance.  
"Matthias!" He yelped, concerned that the creature would be able to swipe his uncle. But, as it turned out, as he could not catch the creature's agility, the creature could not match Matthias's. With movements barely traceable, the beast that was readying to kill the man was in ropes, wrapped tightly from beneath his chin down its knees. With a frustrated groan it fell to the cobbles, moans of complaint exiting its lips. Clopin looked at him curiously. It almost sounded human.  
Clopin reached his uncle, gasping just a little for the amount of breath he had lost. The creature had given up fighting for the moment and was staring up at the sky, the look of bitter annoyance on its face. Clopin leant over it, staring, his curiosity renewed.  
"What is it, Matthias?" He asked, eyeing the sharp bared teeth and the angered black eyes.  
"Isn't it obvious, Monsieur King?" He returned, leaning over the blue animal as well. "It's a rabbit. Can't you see the large ears peeking from its head?"  
"What a vicious bunny," Clopin responded dryly, shaking his head. "I don't think a bunny could run so fast, climb so high, or growl for that matter."  
"It's not a bunny, it's a rabbit," Matthias explained angrily, straightening out and crossing his arms around his thin chest.  
"Either or, I don't think-"  
"Then what is it, genius?" Matthias asked, something of an irked tone to his voice.  
"I don't know," Clopin said, standing up and stroking his bearded chin in thought. "A cat...no, not a cat...a dog, maybe..."  
Matthias interrupted the thought, chuckling so hard that he was doubled over.  
"A dog?" he gasped, still snickering. "That ugly thing a dog?"  
The animal growled, as if in understanding, but Clopin ignored this, a little embarrassed.  
"I've seen uglier pups, you old fool," he responded. "Like the one that stands before me, gasping like a fish out of water."  
Matthias glanced up and shook his head, but was smiling nonetheless.  
"Oh, don't take it that way, king," he said, clapping his back with a skeletal hand. "If you think it's a dog, then it's a dog, all right? Don't be so bitter."  
Clopin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else about the "species matter". He glanced at the "dog" again, who seemed to have regained its want of freedom and was attempting to make its way onto its feet again by jumping on its back and rolling on the ground. Before it could, though, Clopin reached down and picked it up, making sure that it would not be able to take place. But the animal began writhing ever the more, beginning its growls yet again. But Clopin held on fast, not allowing its escape, but being thrashed a little in the process. Clopin looked down at the animal when it happened to settle down a little, and a question popped into his head.  
"Matthias," he started, still looking at the "dog", "What reason do you have for capturing such a beast?" A thought popped into his head that made him gag inwardly. "We aren't going to cook him, are we? I remember last time you tried to make us eat something you caught. Homer had a stomachache for a whole week, not to mention diarrhea..."  
"That snake was just fine," Matthias argued. "It's not any fault of mine that that lad couldn't take it. Everyone else was fine weren't they?"  
"We all could tighten our belts but you and Homer," Clopin explained. "We threw it out when you weren't looking. Sorry. I don't know why it didn't affect you. Knowing you, you were probably immune to such things by the time you were five."  
"So I was, so I was," Matthias chuckled. "But you needn't worry, son, it's not for eating. It's a little project I have to busy myself with."  
"And, that is?" Clopin asked.  
"I'm going to train this rabbit here to get us some money. In a week, he'll be doing flips for coins and dancing for silver."  
"Don't you mean dog?" Matthias brushed this off and continued to go on about his plans. Clopin held in some laughter. Old Matthias, that fool. Train this creature in a week? Other than that impossibility, he never finished what he started, taking into account a half-built trough for the horses, and the new clothes he was trying to stitch for himself. They were half-finished now...one year after he had started. But he shrugged the thoughts off. He felt sorrier for the poor animal.  
Clopin glanced at the animal he had in his arms. It had stopped moving for a moment, but its expression was very annoyed. It was as if it understood what Matthias had said. Clopin clicked his tongue and stared up at the sky. He must be seeing things.

When Lilo came back from the shadows of Notre Dame, she was absolutely disappointed. No sign of the metal transmitter anywhere. She brushed off her shoulders. Dust had fallen from the beams during her search, as if nothing had touched them for years. She had no doubt about this, which made more sense why that beam that she had walked on had almost snapped.  
She sighed, picking up a pack of crayons that she had removed from her bag and looking for a stray sheet of paper she could perhaps color on.  
"This isn't fair," she said, peeking into her bag. "I'll never get home if I don't find it."  
She scanned the floor, still clutching the pack, and crawled along, searching beneath things that she had unpacked. She couldn't find any paper.  
"What if I lost it and it got sent somewhere?" She thought aloud. "Nani would get mad at me, and then she would get sad. What if she punishes Stitch or Jumba? I hope they don't think I'm dead or anything. There would be no hope if they weren't looking for me, and I'd have to live with Quasimodo forever... if he let me. Darn it! Why did I pack crayons and didn't put any paper?"  
She sat up and pouted, staring at the pack of crayons then throwing them angrily on the floor. She sighed.  
"I really need a hug right now," she told herself. She looked up and scanned for Scrump. Seeing no trace of her little green doll, she stood up, a little worried. "Scrump? Scrump, where are you?"  
She walked through the bell tower, searching desperately for her little friend, peeking through her bag, at everything she had searched before and glancing through the shadows as far back as she could. She looked as high as she could, and went through every level of the bell tower that she had traveled during her short stay. She was near tears when she stopped and she was sweating from the search.  
"Oh, where did I put her?"  
She walked quietly to the place where the small models were kept, and noticed something that she hadn't noticed during her search. She had looked below the table, but, desperate, had not paid any attention to what was above it. Or sitting next to it. Breathing softly, asleep, Quasimodo was resting his deformed head atop the surface of the table, leaning on his arm for cushioning. A troubled look was on his face, but he had a slight smile taking his mouth. In his hands was the model of himself that Lilo had been introduced to that morning, and in his arms lay her little doll. She smiled at the sight, remembering that she had given it to him to play with. She approached the scene cautiously, laughing gently at the sweetness of the whole sight. There was just something beautiful about it, absolutely beautiful.  
"That's pretty cute," she remarked, walking beside the four-legged stool and looking straight up at her friend with gentle eyes. She leaned in gently for the hug she needed, a quiet tear running down her cheek at the returned thought of her troubles. Quasimodo stirred slightly, and Lilo let go, not wanting to mar the sweet scene. Yawning quietly, she took a seat on the floor, leaning against the stone legs that supported the table. She sighed, staring outwards, not feeling as alone and agitated as she had moments before. Just a little sleepy. Yawning yet again, and stretching out her arms, she nestled herself upon the floor slats, beside Quasimodo's feet, like a puppy. With one silent glance up at her friend, and another smile, she lay her head against her arm and fell asleep.

A/N: Okay that's it for now. I'm not sure how long it will be next time I update, but hopefully it'll be a little faster than last time. I'm sorry about the whole "paragraph stuck together" thing. I just want to tell those who I've annoyed inadvertently with that complication that I am not stupid and I do know how to break my stories into paragraphs. It was uploaded wrongly. I apologize and I hope I have done better with this chapter. Okay? Okay. Read and review, Mes Amis! More Clopin next chapter, hopefully.

A/N: Okay, the damn tenth chapter of this story. I know I haven't been writing as well as I would have liked, only able to get my writing done late at night. My muse seemed to lose its nocturnal nature, and it's asleep, along with any of my talent in writing. Well, here it is, I hope you like it! Read and review, you know the drill.


	10. The stars

Chapter 10

Lilo stared out at the blackened heavens, where the sun, now just a bare shimmer of crimson light, outlined the sharp mountains of the far-off horizon. The soft shades of twilight took place of the once dynamic orange and reds of the already passing sunset, allowing the twinkling stars to find their place in the developing backdrop of night sky. The evening breeze swept across the roofs and spires of Paris, passing along the outer walkway of Notre Dame, across the stone balustrade that she then was sitting upon. She felt it, an invisible force that disturbed her dress and hair and sent those shivers up and down her straightened spine. There was something about that moment, sitting there and looking at the stars that just made her happy to be alive.  
Quasimodo stood beside her, as silent as she was, leaning upon the hewn railway with a bittersweet expression, conventional to the hunchback, taking all of his deformed face. Lilo turned her glance from the sky to her new friend, watching him as his he stared not upwards at the stars but downwards at the tired city of Paris below. The little Hawaiian followed that sad gaze down into those tall wooden houses. There were candles, it seemed, in all the open windows, not yet chosen to be closed to shut out the night wind. The flames, Lilo thought quietly, seemed to remind her of the stars that were coming to light in the ether above, as if it were a reflection, similar to the one created by the ocean on those warm Hawaiian nights.  
She stared down at the flickering lights, at every house that they were set in, scanning as much as she could the twisted streets beneath, and then looked back up at the hunchback with a sort of confusion taking hold of her. His cheek was rested on his upturned hand, and there was a smile on his face, but a shimmer of melancholy in his large eyes. She turned her whole body round to face him, making sure not to fall over the edge of the balustrade, worry in her brown eyes.  
"Why are you so sad, Quasimodo?" she asked, gripping onto the edges of the banister as she leaned forward to better examine his face.  
"Hm?" The hunchback straightened out somewhat and his eyes widened suddenly as if he were forced abruptly out of a dream or a deep thought. He turned to Lilo, still a little flustered, glancing back down at the city for a final time before talking. "Oh," he said, "I was just thinking about something..." His gaze returned to the houses, where the candles were finally being blown out and the windows beginning to close. The sun had completely disappeared below the horizon. He sighed and that smile disappeared. "You don't know what it's like to live up here alone all the time, Lilo."  
"I guess not..." She said. She glanced at that sad face. "Well, I'm here now," she responded, putting a hand on one of his shoulders.  
"Yes," he said, smiling, "I know. And, I'm happy about that."  
Lilo returned the smile with a wide one of her own, and she straightened herself out and turned back to the sky.  
"It's very pretty, isn't it?" she asked.  
"Yes..." Quasimodo looked at the sky and the stars. There was a pensive expression on his deformed face. Finally, without removing his eyes from the sky, he spoke. "Lilo, can I ask you something?"  
"Shoot," she replied, still smiling. Quasimodo looked as if he were going to say something, his mouth opened, his eyes shimmering with an unfamiliar light. But nothing came out, not a word escaped his pale lips, and he could not spare an utterance for some unknown reason. Lilo stared at him, waiting patiently for him to proceed with his inquiry, smiling curiously all the while. Finally, Quasimodo just sighed and stared down at the floor of the walkway, shaking his head sadly.  
"What did you want to ask, Quasi?" she asked, a little confused.  
"Never mind," he replied, turning away. "It isn't important, anyway."  
"Alright," Lilo said, turning her head in a sort of questioning manner, but shrugging her shoulders passively. "If you say so."  
Quasimodo stared at her for a small but meaningful while, as if in appraisal, Lilo returning the gaze in perplexity. Then, half-laughing about something that Lilo probably wouldn't understand, he turned, making his way to the entrance that led into his bell tower home.  
"Where are you going?" Lilo asked before he disappeared.  
"I have to do something again," he yelled back. "Just stay there, I'll come back in a few minutes."  
Lilo listened as the creaking of the boards inside the tower made its way upward and inward so much until she was unable to hear them any longer. For a while, everything was once again silent, except the creaking of the closing shutters and the gentle howl of the blowing wind. It was somewhat disturbing and altogether ominous, as if she were waiting for something to just up and grab her, or for some sort of eruption or explosion to occur.  
Seconds later, it was something of an explosion that did stir the air, the sudden clanging of iron bells sounding from the bell tower, then far outward, seemingly past what Lilo was able to see. The night appeared much more palpable with that ringing, the very same that had rung out earlier on in that day and enchanted her immediately. She listened excitedly to the tones of those metal throats as they sung out into the evening, enjoying the music as she had before. She was smiling again. Minutes later, it died out, the night falling back into its obscure silence once the echoing of those bells disappeared. Following it just moments afterward, Quasimodo appeared from the opening of the bell tower, a certain smile lighting his face as if he had just done something that pushed back his melancholy for at least a while longer.  
"I really like the bells, Quasi," Lilo said, as he appeared beside her. "What are they for, anyway?"  
"I was ringing the evening mass," he replied. He put his hands beneath her armpits and lifted her off the balustrade onto the stone floor. He led her into the bell tower, holding her tiny hands in his own large one. "I have a lot of chores to do after sunset," he informed her as they entered the level of the tower where his miniature table was set. "So you'll have to wait in the bell tower until I'm done, if that's okay with you. You can also come along with me, if you want."  
Lilo lifted an eyebrow, thinking about the tasks she had to complete just the day before.  
"It's okay," she answered, "I'll just stay here for now and explore around."  
"Alright," Quasimodo said, stepping into the area set out for his berth. "Just be careful. And," he said, pulling out a candle, "you'll need this. It gets very dark in the bell tower at night, and there are rats sometimes." He looked down at her with a parental concern. "Are you sure you want to stay up here?"  
"Yup," Lilo replied. "I'll be really careful. You have nothing to worry about."  
"I hope so," Quasimodo said, and he put the candle on a brass holder, lighting the wick with a match. "I don't want anything to happen to you, okay, Lilo? The bell tower is a lot bigger than it seems."  
"I'll bet," she said. "If I can beat the cold abyss of space, I can beat a bell tower."  
"What was that?" Quasimodo asked, an eyebrow lifted, both eyes staring curiously down at her.  
"Nothing," Lilo quickly replied, suddenly realizing her mistake. She shouldn't tell anyone about her adventures in space. Not here in this one place, and not at her home on Earth. She didn't want to get in trouble with Jumba...if she ever saw him again.  
Quasimodo just shrugged, accepting the reply, and handed her the candleholder.  
"Be careful," he repeated slowly, so she would be more aware of how dangerous it could be. Lilo nodded her head impatiently, saying she understood and he didn't have to worry about her at all. It took Quasimodo several moments to build up enough certainty to leave the bell tower, and even then Lilo was sure she saw him muttering some sort of prayer as he made his way down the ladder.  
"Well," Lilo shrugged, "at least he cares."

Stitch sat between Old Matthias's knobby knees, grumbling inwardly as the ancient man forced his bony fingers through his wild blue hair, listening to the conversation that was passing between the gypsy and several others of his kin. They were discussing no one other but Stitch himself, now renamed "Rabbit" or "Dog" when that thin man appeared that Matthias referred to as "king" or "nephew" and other vulgar names, though most behind his back. Stitch hadn't the time or the luck to discover his true name, but he found him less annoying than the old man, but still horribly irritating in his incredibly happy manner. That man seemed to find some satisfaction in rubbing his hands into Stitch's hair very violently, and making Matthias brush it up again. There seemed to be a little bit of undiscovered hostility between them, though the "dog" suspected that it was as friendly a rivalry as the two could manage.  
"I think it's more of a baby bear," one gypsy woman said as she sewed the hem of a skirt.  
"Perhaps it is some sort of bat. Look at his ears!" Another said.  
"I think his ears more resemble a rabbit's," Matthias said. "So that is what I get, and you all can stick to any other bets."  
The other gypsies muttered, throwing money and slips of paper into a large pot in the center of the circle that they formed. Stitch, barely understanding what they meant, got a glance at the slips as they were thrown in with the coins, noticing small roughly drawn pictures of animals and initials marked on the bottom. This gave him less clues than what he would have liked.  
"What's all this?" The voice of "king", very discernible with its flute-y highness from the rough, worn sounds of the other male gypsies. Stitch stared at him warily, having just finished with the painful operation of having his hair recombed by the less-than-gentle Matthias.  
"We're betting what this odd character might be," one gypsy replied, glancing at the king as he tossed in a slip and a few coins.  
The king raised one eyebrow, now visible since his mask was now gone. He glanced at Stitch and Matthias.  
"I though we agreed that it was a dog," he said with a friendly suspicion.  
"Well," Matthias said, thinking, "I really think it's a rabbit." He turned to the other gypsies. "Does this look like a dog to you?"  
The crowd laughed at the very idea, and Stitch grumbled grumpily. For so long he had disguised himself as a dog in Hawaii and now no one believed that simple alibi.  
"He is the Quasimodo of all curs," one man said, chuckling. "He must have been run over with a wagon in his youth, or something with that effect."  
Matthias dropped in a slip of paper that he had just written on, and tossed it into the black pot with a few coins.  
"There," he said. "Monsieur Clopin Trouillefou; Dog."  
"How generous of you," said Clopin, "to give some of your money just to prove me a fool."  
"I must say," The old gypsy said, "you've done a very good job making it difficult to do that, for some strange reason. But, if that is what it takes, then I will be happy to steal money just to prove it."  
"Why such animosity now, my friend?" Clopin asked, lifting another eyebrow. "I thought everything was peachy! You were acting so friendly for years. Isn't this whole stupid argument over with?"  
"I thought it was...but something inside me is screaming out 'NO'!" Matthias replied. "And besides, how is it you are so sure it's about that?"

"Well," Clopin said, "I just hope you won't have to lower yourself to stealing, as you said. This is folly, you old fool, and not the fun type either."  
"Alas, you are too late," Matthias said. "The crime is committed. Check your pockets, Monsieur le fou and you shall see!"  
Clopin was frowning as he peeked into the pouch at his side, and exclaimed angrily.  
"You blasted thief!" he yelled. "That's half of today's earnings! And all bet for something so stupid! You've stooped rather low this time, Matthias."  
"It seems King has no confidence in his choice," the old gypsy replied bitterly, and, smiling at Stitch, he began patting the blue creature's head. "Isn't that right, rabbit?"  
Clopin frowned. "How are you to discover if this is a dog if no person in this world has seen what such a creature before?"  
"I have my ways," Matthias replied, staring down at Stitch and smiling impishly. Stitch gulped and glanced at Clopin, who was shaking his head and staring at the blue creature sympathetically.  
"I hope you don't lose your experiment before the week of training has started," Clopin said, and he turned away with an angry sweep.

Clopin glanced backward at the group of gypsies behind him as he left the lighted circle, and he sighed, shaking his head disappointedly and sitting at the bread table, where a few loaves were set now. Taking out his dagger, he cut a slice and chewed, apparently upset, staring at the sharpened tip of the blade as he ate. Matthias was acting so ridiculous this night! This old vagabond was proving much more spontaneous than he was!  
"That old bastard," he muttered, jamming the tip of the dagger angrily into the wooden boards of the table. "He's more rotten than his cooking, I swear!"  
"I don't know, Clopin," said a voice behind him. "You know how he is. One moment he's forgotten everything and lays back, and the other, he brings up old arguments that might have happened a thousand years ago and he gets angry. He's just a doddering old fool."  
"Who just happens to be very vengeful," Clopin added, sighing and laying his head on the table. "You should be one to understand that, La Esmeralda, after what he did to you."  
The gypsy woman set herself beside her leader, sighing and straightening out her dress.  
"It was only once," she said. "At least he didn't do anything after that."  
"That was only because he thought the job was finished, which seemed more probable than you think," Clopin said, straightening out. "How can you just easily forgive him?"  
"He didn't do it again, and he promised not to do it again!"  
"So? He set your dress on fire!"  
"The burns went away eventually," Esmeralda replied. "Anyway, he's like my grandfather. You know how old people are."  
"Yes, but barely enough about old demons."  
Clopin stared at the circle of gypsies, where the old man he now hated and his new creature was.  
"Oh, he'll forget about it eventually, Clopin," Esmeralda said. "He's taken you being gypsy king for years already; he'll take it many years from now right until he dies."  
"Does it have to be so many years?" the gypsy king asked, staring at the girl, mock-pleadingly.  
"You know, you aren't exactly that easy to deal with, either," the woman said. "Sometimes you're even harder to understand, and your mood swings are just out there!"  
"What do you mean?" Clopin asked, narrowing his eyes.  
"Well," Esmeralda said, "most of the time, you're just ridiculous." She glanced at him. "In the good way," she added. "Other times, you're sadistic, and after that, you want to kill everyone. Sometimes you drink yourself silly, other times, you don't want to get anywhere near ale. One moment you're practically evil, and seconds later, you act as if nothing happens and you're jumping around, singing!"  
Clopin smiled, chuckling that familiar laugh, his spirits and features brightened.  
"See?" Esmeralda noted, gesturing toward his expression. "You're just a cornucopia of different feelings and moods, as is your uncle. You two are more alike than you and your father would ever have been, you understand that, right?"  
"Well, yes," Clopin said, still laughing a bit. "I suppose your more right than I give you credit. I just sometimes wish the old man would jump out of his cloud of revenge. How are your legs?"  
"I told you, the burns went away."  
"I'll take your word for it," he said. "At least I'm not that poor creature, whatever he is."  
"Didn't you think it was a dog?"  
"In a way, yes," he replied, scratching his chin. "But, now that I'm losing half my earnings, I'm not too sure anymore."  
Esmeralda shook her head. "You'll regain them in a day, Clopin, you know you can."  
"You're too kind, La Esmeralda," he said, standing up and sweeping his hat off in a charming bow. "I thank you for this enlightening lecture."

And with that, he skipped off, singing.

Lilo had already ventured about a lot of the tower, encountering cockroaches and several of the rats that Quasimodo had mentioned before. There was a great amount of dust filming the wooden floors, hiding the slats in an eerie whiteness. It was very dark in the bell tower, and the candle gave out less light than she would have been comfortable with, not enough to reveal to her a safe amount of what lay before her. Several times already, she nearly tripped or fell off the edge of the elevated floor onto a lower level.  
She was becoming a bit frightened of her surroundings now, the wax of the candle more than half below its original height. The night was becoming very cold, and the small flame before her was not enough heat to stop the shivering. She held it close to her, taking away the small amount of illumination she had from it to guide her, the only other light to help her being the sparse silver rays of the moonlight that shone through the crossing beams.  
Lilo wasn't completely sure just which way it was back to her starting point near the miniatures, having made her way well into the labyrinth of confusing beams and ladders that made up the bell tower. She spent what seemed like hours traveling back and forth, trying to trace her footprints in the dust, which proved much harder than she liked. It seemed a new film of dust was beginning to form over them.  
It was during one of her print searches when that she saw the silver light of the moon shining through an open window.  
"Finally," she said, rushing over, relieved. She was beginning to get tired of the monotony of the darkness. When she reached the place, though, instead of discovering the familiar place she realized more and more how horribly lost she really was. She just arrived in a location that she had never seen nor been before.  
It was a clearing in the jungle of crossbeams, where a single window, pane-less as the others had been, was set into the wall, the light of the full moon glittering in pale rays through the square hole. There was nothing there, but a fallen beam, rotting at the edges and set against the wall, beneath the ledge of the window. The dust on the floor was thinner than the other places she had chanced upon, as if it were more recently visited than they were. Cobwebs were formed in the corner of the windows, their masters long gone, either left or dead.  
And then there was something else, hidden just beneath the shadow of an overhanging slat of wood. Lilo was not truly able to see it, barely clued into its existence by the moonlight that was able to catch a reflecting corner of whatever was set there. Lilo, curious girl that she was, stood on the verge of the clearing, fighting inwardly whether or not she should see what it was that stood there, taunting her with its mysteriousness. On one hand, it might be something she wasn't supposed to see, or maybe something dangerous, like a giant blade or something of the like. On the other, it could be something pretty, something magical, or perhaps nothing at all, bringing her no loss or no gain.  
It was just the way she was, she realized when she took the first timid step forward into the pallid rays, clutching her candle tight in her hands. Her travel was slow, her steps light and scared as if she expected some horrible beast to jump out at her if she made too much sound. The near silent creaks of the boards seemed explosions beneath her light, sandaled feet. She was sweating horribly when she finally reached whatever it was that lay beyond the shadows. She glanced back at the lighted clearing, frowning angrily at how much it harried her, before turning to find the identity of the object.  
When she saw it, her breath was taken away at the sight. The flame of her candle reflected against the glass of an unset window, large and stained with color, patterned with pictures of flowers and angels. The panes of glass were set into welded iron, which had not yet tarnished, so Lilo suspected it was either well taken care of or not old at all. She stood there quietly, her hands loosening with a preoccupied wonder. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. For several moments she just stood there, her fingers opening quietly, as if she were going to touch it. Her hand lifted up, and pressed against the cool glass, icy cold from the night air, and probably much more fragile.  
There was a sudden thump against the floorboards, and Lilo exclaimed, turning suddenly in realization as her candle and its holder dropped out of her hand. Her hands pushed hard against the art as she turned, the momentum of her excitement tipping the window suddenly as she reached for the holder. She leaned down for the brass holder scared the floor might catch fire if she didn't get it soon, but it was only when she just barely touched the handle of the holder that something horrible happened.

Quasimodo, finished with the last of his chores was making his way back to his apartment. He entered the shadows of the tower, rubbing his shoulder, hoping that Lilo was alright. There was just something he was frightened about, this odd feeling in his chest that said that something just wasn't right there. The air had a waver of foreboding, and it sent chills through his malformed body. It wasn't the wind...no the wind could not achieve such cold. It was something supernatural...an instant of psychic warning.  
He did not understand it really; he understood that Lilo probably could take care of herself, though it was difficult to believe with her being so small. He didn't want her to get hurt, not at all. She was the closest thing to a friend that he had ever had...well, closest human friend that was, next to his own father. The thought of his foster-father came suddenly into his head, that austere and pious face coming into view of his inner eye. Suddenly, Quasimodo became unsure of if it would be wise to let Lilo be in the bell tower. What would his master think? Would he get angry? Would he mind? If he did, what would he do to him? What would his master do to Lilo?

These thoughts frightened him. He really wasn't sure now what he should do. He wanted to keep Lilo with him as long as he could, the bond that they had created between each other formed so quickly that it tore at his heart the very notion of her leaving. Not only would he miss her until she came back, he wasn't even sure if she would come back. It only took him a few moments of him seeing her that made him attached to her. It was when she was fainted in his arms, so fragile and sad-looking, like nothing more than an infant. He could have done without the vomit, but still...  
There was a sudden crash from the upper levels followed by a frightened scream. Quasimodo, pulled abruptly out of his thoughts, looked upwards; sweat beginning to trickle from his forehead with his anxiety. He knew who had screamed.

A/N: Okay, that's it. I'd just like to thank those who have reviewed so far, you rock. Cathy, thank you, you're the person who brought me back to this piece of fiction, which I had, sadly, forgotten. I can never forget my first. Fallen Wraith, Frollo is coming in two or more chapters, so hold on, and if anyone else is reading this, REVIEW! For the love of all humanity REVIEW! My self esteem is very low!!!


	11. Broken angels

**.The Hawaiian and the Hunchback**

**Glass fixtures**

**A.N.: Oh, look at that... another chapter. This is odd... so... unexpected... how is it that it happened? Maybe, Mlle Guille was bored enough to realize that she actually had a story to finish... or at least to write. I'm not sure whether or not I'll ever come to the end of this story... I haven't had much support from readers lately, so I might not find a point for doing it anymore... (Hint hint: REVIEW). Nah, I won't force you. But, the reason I write isn't only for creative purposes, though that is one of the biggest reasons, but it is also for the readers. If there are no readers, then I should just keep my stories to myself and... blah. SO!!!! If you want to see this story continue... REVIEW! Please! I'm on my knees and begging you, give me a reason to write! I know, I'm a pathetic loser but – Rant continued on closing notes – okay... now, in this chapter, which I hope is better than the last two pieces of crap that I tried to pass as chapters, I try to write an angry Quasimodo... Not as good, I think, as it should have been... but still. Okay... now read. And review. But most of all, read. My pixy stix are running out....**

Quasimodo rushed through the gloom of Notre Dame, swatting away cobwebs and jumping over beams as he searched the darkness, screaming the name of his little friend, whom he swore he heard screaming just moments before. Dust and missed webs clung to his arms and shoulders, the light cast between the wooden floor slats above shedding intermittent shadows along his façade, creating a sort of imprisoning sense. Quasimodo ran on, yelling Lilo's name, begging her to tell him where she was, or what had happened. He hoped quietly that she did hear him, and hoped even more that she was able to respond.

"Lilo!" Came another of his screams, his hysteria worsening as he continued down the dark way, passing in and out of the moonlight. He had come into the place without either a torch or candle; he was too worried to bother with such things...

Lilo.... The poor girl... what had happened? Why had she come to scream like that? What ungodly creature had managed to frighten the little girl, who had been able to take the sight of him without a sickened glance? His eyes flitted back and forth, searching through the shadows that he had long since grown accustomed to. Nothing, not a sign, not a second scream nor cried out answer to his calls. Where was she? Why did she remain silent though he yelled in concern, running like a madman beneath the levels of the bell tower?

He hoped nothing had happened, that neither man nor creature had come to harm her. She was his first friend, well... first human friend for that matter. She meant so much to him, though he had only known her for, perhaps, less than twenty-four hours, many of which she had been sleeping in his own berth and he had been watching over her, wondering who she was. She was important now, another of the few rays of sunshine that lit up his drab and lonely life, and if he lost her, he wouldn't know what he would do.

Suddenly, he realized the path that he was moving down was somewhat... familiar... it had been a while since he had been down that way, but, still... he knew he had been there before... He continued on, his pace slower as sudden remembrance entered his mind... Yes... that secret place, the one he used to visit so often as a child...

He rushed forth, pushing through more cobwebs until he spotted before him a shimmering of pale moonlight, not from above but from ahead. With a sudden gasp of joy, he burst forward, into the fringes of the light.

A few feet in front, Lilo stood motionless, staring down at the dust-filmed floorboards of the clearing, silent as the grave. Behind her, the candle that he had given her for light when he had left the tower spun in wide circles, toppled over, its flame just barely floating above the floor.

"Lilo!" Quasimodo screamed, happiness and relief filling him with warmth. "I thought that something had happened to you... I heard you scream and I... Lilo? Lilo, what's wrong? Lilo... Lilo, what are you looking at?"

Quasimodo began to step forward, his hand stretched out to grab her little shoulder. There was something eerie about the whole thing... Lilo's uncharacteristic silence, the candle... and what was it that she was staring at? He could hear the floorboards creak as he stepped forward, a frightening noise considering the situation. Had something happened to Lilo?

Suddenly, she spun around, her face pale, her eyes wide and troubled. Quasimodo half jumped at the expression, the fear and trepidation that shone in those brown eyes, her ever quivering mouth... It was as if she had something to say but was unable...

"Quasi..." She finally managed to whisper out, the arrival of tears accumulating at the corner of her almond-shaped eyes. And, again, her stammering began, and no comprehendible word escaped those tremulous lips.

"What is it?" He asked again, shaking his head, worry once again beginning to seep into his mind. "Lilo, what's...?"

Quasimodo approached her, glancing forward to see just what she was staring so somberly at for the past few seconds after his arrival.

Suddenly, he stopped. Stopped talking, stopped wondering, stopped breathing... he thought, perhaps, that his heart had as well stopped beating for some seconds after the sight.

Finally, Lilo found her voice, and started screaming out apologies at the dumbfounded hunchback, her tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, her fingers clutching the sleeve of his shirt as she wept.

"I didn't mean to!" She cried, wiping her tears on her sleeve. "It was an accident! I dropped my candle, and... and I'm sorry!"

Quasimodo was still silent, staring down at the floor just as Lilo had been... Of all the things for her to have destroyed, that she could've bothered toppling, dropping, maligning... Why this?

Before them, the remnants of a once beautiful thing lay in shattered pieces, strewn across the floor. The silver of the moon's rays reflected off of the once shimmering pieces of glass, now dull and lifeless, the edges glinting horribly off of the sharpened edges. The once beautiful backdrop of pillow soft clouds and sweeping blue sky was now naught more than a jagged, ugly mess. The angels' wings lay disconnected from their masters, the golden round of the haloes now cracked and broken in twain. Every piece of the glass puzzle seemed to be molested in one way or another, from scuffs and scratches to cracks and fractures... It was a horrible thing for Quasimodo to set his eyes on, and his tears found a path down his pallid face, a brief and meaningful silence in mourning for the death of such a sentimental thing.

Lilo glanced up at Quasimodo, her own tears streaming down into the collar of her dress, trying her best to read the feelings in his expression, in his eyes. She was frightened of how he would react, knowing that she had broken the stained glass. It wasn't that she thought that he would hurt her, because she knew he wouldn't. But, if he were angry with her... what if never wanted to speak to her again?

Don't be ridiculous, Lilo told herself, pouting inwardly. Quasimodo is my friend, she offered her emotions, he would never do that! After all, I said I was sorry, and I am... It was accident, right? So that makes everything okay...right? Lilo suddenly felt uncertainty creeping up on her, gripping her heart mercilessly as the hunchback towered above her, silent and unmoving as mountain stone.

Finally, Quasimodo made a motion. His eyes, once planted on the shattered mess before him, now turned, eerily blank, to face the young girl below him who was still clutching onto his sleeve. Another bout of quietude followed, then, in a gradual motion, the empty shock gave way to utter ire, those pools of green usually so full of kindness now flaming with anger. Quasimodo's glance at Lilo was not eerie anymore... It was downright frightening! Lilo felt her heart pounding scared in her chest as that cavernous mouth opened to speak.

"Lilo, how could you?" The words spoken were at first soft, dripping with sadness. "Why were you... you shouldn't even... How could you have...? You shouldn't have touched it, Lilo!" He looked away, breathing harder. "What are you doing here anyway? You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't have come here, and now look what you did! God, Lilo, you... you... look what you _did_!"

"I said I was sorry!" Lilo exclaimed, the tears coming down more freely, and anger rising up in her bosom. How dare he get angry at her even after she apologized!

Quasimodo wasn't affected by the point, just shaking his head angrily, glancing up at her with eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"No!" He screamed, his jagged teeth glinting in the moon's silver shine. "You don't understand! That was my... my... Go home, Lilo!" He yelled. "Get out. Just, **_get out_**!"

Lilo's eyes were shining with tears as she ran through the jumble of beams and shadows that had lead her to that place. She didn't know where she was going to go, what she was going to do, or what was going to happen to her. She just knew that she had to get out. Just get out.

Quasimodo fell onto his knees before the sprawl of glass and iron, his anger giving way to heart-jerking sadness. His grief splattered upon the creaking boards as tears, and his mouth was releasing weeps and cries other than angry yells. Why had she touched it? That question repeated itself over and over again in his head, the worry that he had felt for her before buried and forgotten.

That window, that stained glass window, was something that he had held onto ever since he had first found it when he was a child. It was unfinished, hidden in one of the tower's shadows, and supposedly never to be touched again. He had found it there as he wandered, lonely, and had finished it himself. It took him years to complete, and he had formed some sort of connection with it. It brought him happiness, and he visited about once every month after it was done, keeping it in a secluded place for his own private pleasure. But now... now it was gone... and it was all Lilo's fault.

He sighed gently, sweeping the remains of his creation into a shimmering heap, and, staring quietly at the pile for a few moments more, he turned away, weeping still.

His venture back to the main of his "apartment" was made in silence, untouched cobwebs clinging nonchalantly in his flaming hair, his white face unmoving, his green eyes staring. The tears had long since stopped their flow, and he felt little emotion anymore. He felt blank...empty. He scanned the area with not a word escaping his lips. Lilo's things had disappeared from the floor, though he noticed several stray crayons left as a result of a quick escape. Lilo was gone, he thought, sighing harshly. She had left him.

Well, whatever, he thought, shaking his head, doing as well as he could to banish any sympathetic thought toward the girl. She shouldn't have stayed so long anyway.

He sat at his table, not yet feeling sleep creep on him, quiet and unsure of what he was to do. He stared at the table, but closed his eyes, supporting his head on his hand. Scrump was still there- another thing that Lilo had forgotten. Quasimodo picked up the rag doll gently, staring into the mismatched eyes, shaking his head and standing up. He needed to take a walk. The bell tower wasn't helping him much at the moment.

Quasimodo trekked outside, feeling the wind of evening against his face as it toyed with his hair. Scrump was still in his hands. The moon was shining ever so brightly in the sky, surrounded by a heaven of shimmering stars. But his heart could not yet be healed. He made his way downward, into the somber cathedral, where the chants of the priests and deacons continued monotonously.

He paused before the door, his heart skipping a beat for a second when he saw a young figure weeping on the bottom step. It was Lilo, her head leaning against the jamb of the entrance, bent over herself, hugging her bag that was lumpy with careless packaging. She was mumbling to herself as she wept, shaking with every breath she took. Quasimodo felt a brief moment of sympathy for her.

Lilo turned round, probably sensing his towering presence and her crying eyes slitted angrily.

"Are you going to toss me out of the church now?" She asked bitterly, wiping away the wet path of her tears.

Quasimodo frowned, shaking his head in annoyance.

"I thought I told you to go home," he said, his voiced edged with anger.

"You're not the boss of me," she returned, turning back to her original position, slumping over her bag.

Quasimodo sighed, throwing Scrump onto her lap as he took a seat beside her.

"You forgot this," he told her, crossing his arms over his legs as he hugged them to his chest. He stared out at the candle-lit place before him, waiting for another snappy remark from Lilo. There was an awkward silence that followed, and suddenly, the little girl began making noise. It wasn't as he had expected. It wasn't snide, or spiteful, but the sound of sad but thankful sobs.

Quasimodo turned to look at Lilo, who sat, staring at Scrump in tears. She didn't hug the doll, only stared at it, as if in utter disbelief. The hunchback watched her quietly, unsure what emotion he was supposed to feel still. Was he supposed to be angry, as he still felt? Sad for himself, as he felt as well? Or Sad for her, which was also there, more obvious now that he realized her sadness. He sighed yet again, a usual thing for him, and he reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Maybe you should go home, Lilo," he said, his voice quiet. He was still angry, but not so much as to start another scream.

Lilo's sobs continued, but they soon quieted down into a quiet contemplation. Tears still fell, dampening her collar.

"I can't," she finally answered, rubbing her eyes again, leaning her cheek against Scrump's little body.

"What?" Quasimodo asked. "No, Lilo, I mean it. I know you're probably still sad about your sister and everything but-"

"No!" She interrupted vehemently. "I can't!"

"I'm sure your sister will understand," he said. "Why don't you try before you-"

Lilo shook her head angrily and groaned. Oh, how was she going to explain this? She couldn't tell him that she was hurled from the future and into the bell tower... That wouldn't make any sense! Not to him, anyway. She knew he was going to keep this up until she left for home... but she wasn't stupid enough to go off somewhere at night alone, at least not without a flashlight and a nice hard bat...

"You don't understand!" She said, the cries yet again bursting from her chest. "I don't' have a home!"

Quasimodo was silent after this statement, the only thing heard being Lilo's sobs.

"You don't..."

"I don't have a home," she repeated, cushioning her forehead with her bulky bag. That was the only thing she could think of at the moment as an explanation... and it was somewhat true, now that she thought about it. Not here... she didn't have a home here... She was stuck here until she found the transmitter and the bracelet was no where in sight. So, she didn't have a home. She was homeless. She was nothing but a crying, homeless little brat that made everybody mad. Nani, Quasimodo... probably Pleakley and Jumba too, now that she was lost... they were probably in trouble and Nani was blaming it all on them... And what about Stitch? Was he mad at her too?

Quasimodo watched her as she leaned on her bag, all sound and movement stopped yet again. He didn't know... He hadn't known. And all her talk about family, and fights and such... but in truth, she was lonely... just like him. And worse, she hadn't a place to stay. He hit himself inwardly. How could he have ever been so heartless?

Quasimodo brought Lilo in his arms into a tight hug, his anger melting quietly away, empathetic tears falling. Moments later, Lilo was asleep on Quasimodo's mattress, wrapped away in his arms and clutching Scrump close to her heart. The night wind could not break through their dreams.

**A/N: -I really really like reviews! I mean... You know what...? Nevermind. **

**Wow! That really was a piece of crap. Nah... I kind of liked this one, though I had to endure several visits from the repetition police of repetition. Tears and tears, sighs and sighs. Sorry, but I'm not that creative. Heh... Well, review, as I mentioned. PLEASE!!!!!!! The chapter didn't end up quite as well as I would've liked, but I like it better than the other ones I've written. Hope you liked it to. Tell me if you do. Please?**


	12. Glass fixtures

Hawaiian and the Hunchback

**A/N: Yay! I got reviews! Thank you, everyone, you rock! I'm sorry about my complaints last chapter. I was childish and it was wrong of me to complain, but I just like knowing that my work is being read. Oh, and Cathy? I just gotta couple things to say to you: Thank you for the compliments and SHUSH! Don't give away the story! ha-ha Just kidding. Whatever. I'm happy that somebody caught on to what I was going toward. Okay! I'm in an awful good mood right now, so I'll just get on with it. Read and Review, please!**

Chapter 12

Lilo awoke to the rising sun, when the morning started in a brilliant stretch of color and singing birds. Quasimodo had disappeared somewhere off into the bell tower, having left her alone again, still clutching tightly onto Scrump's limp body. Probably, Lilo thought as she lifted herself off of her side, to ring the morning bells. She sat up, stretching her arms in the day's first yawn, sighing gently as she slouched in relaxation.

Her eyes were still sticky and uncomfortable from yesterday's cry, she noticed, rubbing them quietly. She exhaled a long and solemn breath at the thought, her chin leaning against her chest as her mind filled with notions. Though her breath had been regained and her eyes dried overnight, her heart remained marred. Until then, she hadn't faced such a blatant reminder of her lost family, hadn't realized so flagrantly how much she had missed all of them. It hurt a lot, and it wouldn't go away, no matter how much Lilo beckoned it to leave. She didn't want to forget them, but didn't want to be affected so harshly by their mere memory. It didn't help her too much. It only made her realize just how hopeless the situation seemed. And Lilo did not like to feel hopeless. It was against her nature, after all.

She pulled herself up, the warmth slipping away with the falling blanket, a slight shiver running up her body. Shaking off the goose bumps, she hugged herself tight and ventured toward the high, open windows. She felt the frigid breeze of a winter morning as it passed through the opening, and she walked away as quickly as she could, back to the blanket and mattress. She replaced herself amongst the warmth, waiting for the slow heat of the blankets to pull her from her frozen state. She was sure she wouldn't find any warmth anywhere other than here in the bell tower. It was too open, too shadowed and shaded, and the pale rays of the sunrise would not yet reach a tolerable temperature.

So, Lilo thought in annoyance, I have to stay in bed all day.

She wouldn't half as minded had she been back home. Especially, she thought, if it were a school day, as she supposed it was now. She had left on a Tuesday, hadn't she? So... if she were at home, it would probably be... a Friday? But, Lilo thought, it was morning when I left home, and when I got here, I'm pretty sure it was night. So, are the days reversed? Is it morning here and night there? Maybe it was sunset, like it was sunrise here. Or maybe, it was a lot of hours behind wherever she was than it was in Hawaii... Now that she thought of it, it was winter here (she drew the conclusion from the cold), and she had left on a summer day... so was everything here warped? Maybe everything...

Lilo shook her head, bringing the blankets closer round her form. No more thinking, Lilo, she told herself, shaking an invisible finger. It's bad for you when you do it too much.

So, having chastised herself for that, she laid her head back down on the mattress and stared up at the high ceiling, tapping her fingers against her stomach, obviously bored. She heaved a frustrated groan and rolled over onto her side, looking Scrump straight in the face.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked the doll. "Quasimodo isn't here, so I'm probably not allowed to play with his dolls. I don't know where I put my bag, and it's too cold; I don't want to look for it. And I already told myself that thinking is bad! And I know I can't go back to sleep..."

The doll didn't answer, seemingly ignoring the Hawaiian's question and continuing to stare blankly forward. Lilo frowned, and shook her head, lying down on her back again, closing her eyes.

Nothing to do, nothing to do... She repeated the words in her head several times over, muttering, annoyed, to herself as time ticked away in slow seconds. The chiming of a clock's bell sounded, informing her of the time, 7:00.

She was reminded suddenly of her broken alarm clock. She wondered if Nani would by her a new one when she got home.

"Stitch would probably break that one too," she ventured, laughing to herself.

She watched as sunlight fringed the edges of her vision. Oh well, she thought. The sun was going to be warm enough soon. Might as well think. After all, a few minutes wasn't too long was it?

Meanwhile, back in the modern, sun-bathed island of Hawaii, in a fairly average elementary school lined with groves of shady palm trees, a young girl and her group of peers walked along the sands of the playground, nattering and gossiping all the while. The leader of the troupe, standing at the center, surrounded by four or more little girls, held a little doll in her hands with a shock of red hair, a color near identical to her own. Her face was bespectacled, and the expression she wore was pompous and just a smidgeon spoiled.

"-And that's what I got on my birthday," Myrtle said, stopping under the shadow of a great tree, its trunk surrounded by a circular wooden bench.

"Wow, Myrtle," one girl said, a look of awe on her round face, "you're so lucky!"

"Yeah!" the other girls responded in unison.

Myrtle's smile was smug. "That's because I'm special. Even the teacher says so."

All nodded quietly, all but kowtowing to their redheaded queen bee. Myrtle was always the leader, always inspiring and admired by those that followed her like dogs on a leash. Sometimes even when the girls disagreed with the brat, which was more often than they would've liked too admit. They seemed frightened of confessing such a thing, and so, despite all of Myrtle's annoying characteristics and utter bossiness, they continued to follow, frightened of venturing the idea of a world without her.

So there they all stood, shaded by the mesh of green leaves above them, silent and unsure of what to talk about. The sounds of birds in the branches above seemed unusually loud, and the laughter of playing children chagrined them horribly.

"I wonder where Lilo is," a blond, pigtailed girl spoke up, bringing up the subject as if it were something barely fit to mention.

"I dunno," another replied, running her fingers through her doll's hair. "She hasn't been going to class..."

"She's probably back in her room crying like a baby," Myrtle said, a wicked sneer taking her round face. "Look at me!" she exclaimed, jumping before her peers. "I'm Lilo! I'm a baby freakula and I have cooties! Waaaaaaaaaah!" Here, she rubbed her eyes in mock weeping, arousing a laugh from her clique. A smug smile came across her face, her pride swelling ever the more.

"Excuse me," a gruff, unfamiliar voice said, "but are you Myrtle Edmonds?"

Myrtle jumped and screamed as a large, dark hand clasped over her little shoulder, the abruptness of the shriek causing more yelps from her group. The hand was withdrawn, and the voice spouted apologies and such for frightening her.

"But are you Myrtle Edmonds?" It asked again.

Myrtle turned round slowly, the thought of what horrible beast may be lurking behind her sending shivers up and down her spine. Standing behind her was not a monster (though to Myrtle it may have seemed to have been), but a large, black man, garbed in business suit and shades.

"I-I'm Myrtle Edmonds," she answered, not even daring to lie to the stranger.

"Cobra Bubbles," he returned in introduction. "So, you're friends with a little girl named Lilo, right?"

"Weird-lo?" Myrtle asked in disgust. The mere suggestion seemed to force all fear from her mind. Friends? She thought bitterly. As if!

"Excuse me?" Cobra asked, a brow lifted quietly. He stared at the redhead quietly, peeking over the tops of his sunglasses in a curious glare. The glance was so daunting that Myrtle decided not to admit that anything had been spoken.

"I sneezed," she answered, coughing.

"Maybe you should get that checked," the man replied, his look unconvinced. But, preoccupied with his thought, he said nothing about it. "Now, back to what I was saying. You know Lilo, right?"

"Yeah, we know Lilo," she replied, rolling her eyes at the mention of that name.

"I was told you were friends," Cobra Bubbles said, his tone dripping with doubt. "An acquaintance of mine asked me to help them find her. You wouldn't know where Lilo is, would you, miss Edmonds?"

"What, she's lost?" Myrtle asked, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently. Count on Lilo to get an ugly man to bother her.

"No," he snapped, his voice fringed with annoyance. "Apparently, she ran away a day or tow ago. No one knows just where she is, and we're trying to figu..."

"Lilo ran away?" Myrtle exclaimed in disbelief, jumping yet again. "Why?"

"I was told something upset her the other day," Cobra told her, his expression more tolerable than it had been a few moments before, but still obviously annoyed by being interrupted. "That might've been the reason. So, you haven't seen her?"

Myrtle was silent, a strange, frightened look on her face. Cobra stared at her, waiting quietly for an answer to his question. Myrtle's comrades looked worriedly back and forth amongst themselves, shaking their heads quietly; unsure of just what was happening to Lilo.

"No, we haven't," they answered for Myrtle, sure that her answer would be the same had she spoken. Cobra Bubbles nodded his head in understanding and bid them adieu, taking another curious glance at little Myrtle before departing.

When Cobra had left, the group leapt toward their leader, tapping her on the shoulder, their words and tone dripping with concern.

"Myrtle, what's wrong?" they asked, crowding about her, their expressions softened with worry. Myrtle's face was blank for a moment, but after several more seconds of her clique's prodding, she snapped back from her thoughts.

"Lilo ran away," she said, echoing the information that Cobra had just give her. Her eyes were glued on the rubber tile that surrounded the great tree.

"Yeah," one girl said. "She's probably upset about..."

"It's my fault."

All the girls exchanged glances, and none of them dared to talk. Their loyalty to Myrtle kicked in yet again, odd for little girls who were thought to be so fickle. Though they did wish to help their friend, they all knew, deep down, that it was the truth.

Lilo was rather upset.

The sun had risen to a warmer height, and the bells had been rung in the morning light. Lilo had long since abandoned her morning prison, leaving the warm blanket unfolded on the old mattress. She had found Quasimodo yet again at his table, playing with his whittled dolls as he sat silent in his thoughts. She had approached, saluting him gently, sure that the happenings of the night before had been forgiven and forgotten, only to find out she was wrong. Quasimodo had only glanced back at her quietly, a smile on his face. But Lilo, insightful girl as she was, saw past the false grin, perceiving the unspoken anger and sadness that he still retained within him. Had she questioned him, he would've denied it, good person that he was. But, Lilo realized, he was horrible at lying. Maybe, if he hadn't been limited to the tower, his deceptive skills would've been more developed. Too bad, because Lilo could tell. And it hurt her on the inside.

She had kept quiet and avoided talking to him for an hour or two afterward, distressed by his hidden yet obvious feelings. Why was he still angry with her? She had, after all, apologized, and he had taken her back into the tower.

But, Lilo reminded herself, that was only after I said I didn't have a home. Maybe he felt like he was supposed to do it...

For one reason or another, that did not make Lilo feel good at _all_.

Quasimodo had walked outside and had stayed there for long; she could here him talking to some unseen soul as she clung to the stone jamb of the tower door. It was probably about her, she realized. So, leaving her post, she ventured yet again through the tower, despite the slight trauma of the night before, her mind clouded with disturbed thoughts. The dusty shafts of light shone golden upon her as she trekked beneath the boards, staring at the unclean floors, ignoring the rats and such that passed by her as she continued further into the gloom.

"It isn't fair," she said aloud after a while. "I apologized! How come grown ups say 'it's okay', when it really isn't? Are they _trying _to confuse us kids?"

This thought echoed through her head, an annoying monopoly over her brain, creating odd notions. It bothered her, knowing that this wasn't only Quasimodo, but Nani, and everyone other grown up she knew who did it. She could tell sometimes that she was a nuisance to them, that she was forever worrying and maddening them. And yet, they were so bent against acknowledging that simple fact.

At least, she thought sadly, not in front of me. Myrtle was enough to deal with.

As these ideas and thoughts popped in and out of her head, her feet, finding nothing better to do and too anxious to remain still, had moved along without her say-so. The pair had propelled her through the clutter of joists and timbers as she near drowned herself in inquisitions she suspected never to be answered, skipping over stray rats and making turns and twists among the beams. Finally, whether it is by coincidence or fate's interception, Lilo found herself pulled from her deep thinking back into the world with a sparkle of sun against glass shards.

She had inadvertently led herself back to the clearing.

"Weird," Lilo muttered beneath her breath, taking cautious steps toward the shimmering pile that Quasi had swept up. She leaned forward over the mound, dazzled by the lights that bounded off of the pieces as the sun shone upon them. The colors of the spectrum, tainted vaguely by the stained shades of the glass, shone upon the ancient beams in a dazzling mini-rainbow. There was always something so pretty about it, Lilo knew, remembering several times before when the same phenomenon had occurred. Lilo picked up a single piece of glass, hanging it before her eyes into the path of the light, admiring the tainted reflection that it cast upon the floor slats. If only, she thought, she could do that with all of the pieces, have them hanging up in the light all at once, coloring the tower with their translucent beauty. Maybe it wouldn't be so dank if she could only do that. Maybe, the tower wouldn't seem so sad and lonely, and Quasimodo would be happy for once...

Lilo glanced sadly at the shards, picking up another piece and letting the sun pass through. But, she asked herself, how was she supposed to do that?

She sighed, lowering herself down to the floor and lying down amongst the dust. She stared at the pile from her place on the floor, hoping for some bit of inspiration that might perhaps come to her. She didn't' have that many materials, and it would be too difficult to put the window back together again, even if the frame were still completely intact. She noted the black iron that rested to the side, filing that into her brain. Crayons and paper wouldn't help that much, no matter what she was going to try to do... She had twine... but what good would that do?

She thought of the twine, tying it around the pieces in her head... she could hang them from the ceiling like that! It might not be so pretty with the cord round it, but that was the best she would be able to accomplish with the materials _she_ had.

Lilo got herself up, sudden excitement coursing through her little body. She would make Quasimodo happy! And, maybe he would forgive her!

So, happy, she rushed off back to where her bag was set. She would make him happy, if it took her a long time...even if the glass shard cut her fingers. She would get him to forgive her!

Quasimodo finally made his way inside after an hour or so, his shoulders still slumped glumly. As Lilo had suspected, he felt the anger still, and he continued mourning the death of his window. He had taken her back; again as Lilo had guessed, because it seemed that it would be the right thing to do. He was still angry, still unsociable, his temper kept at a low though it bubbled so horribly inside of him. It was almost as if he could barely stand her being there with him. He wanted to be kind... but his emotion seemed to be overwhelming him. It was because of her that his window was broken, because of her that there was nothing left of it but a mangled pile of marred and broken glass!

Quasi clutched his head, taking locks of hair into his fists and growling in frustration.

He had never felt such emotion before! It was a veritable mixture, a blend of compassion, anger, love, and hatred. He wanted her to go, but he didn't want her to be alone! What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to hate her? Was he supposed to love her? Was he supposed to let every ounce of anger accumulate within him until he felt he was going to die from it all?

Suddenly, there was another scream from the tower, eerily identical to the one that had sounded only the night before. Quasimodo's eyes widened and he felt his chest heaving with anger. What was she doing now? He knew where the scream was coming from. He not only heard it coming from there, but he felt it in his bosom.

"She's destroying the rest of it," his anger whispered to him. "She's making sure you've got nothing left to reminisce over."

Quasimodo felt a new surge of ire at this sudden statement, and found himself racing back to the sacred place that he had only just visited yester night. His feet pounded against the floorboards, his mouth twisted into an angry grimace. He was going to find her, and he was going to stop her from destroying the rest.

He turned suddenly, then ran into the clearing, still fuming, but suddenly surprised when he saw just what was happening.

Lilo was sucking on her finger, a drop of blood running down her lip. Apparently she had cut herself. About her were several pieces of glass, twine tied about their length, and one piece of green glass with a hint of red on one sharp corner.

"Lilo," Quasi muttered, unsure of just what was happening. He stepped forward. "Lilo, what are you doing?"

Lilo seemed to jump at the sudden sound of his voice behind her, and she turned, a disappointed look on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her finger still hanging from her lip.

"You... you screamed," he answered, his thoughts preoccupied. "But what are you _doing_?"

"Stupid glass," she said, glaring at the red-tipped green. "It's all your fault."

Quasimodo raised an eyebrow, as Lilo sighed quietly, lifting up a piece of glass by the string that was twined about it.

"Look how the sun shines through it," she said, smiling embarrassedly. "It makes a rainbow. Isn't it pretty?"

Quasimodo noticed the gentle shade of pink that it shadowed on the floor, nodding quietly, but his eyes still glittering with wonder. Lilo sighed, taking this badly, wiping beginning tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I really am! I didn't mean to break it, so I'm trying to make it better." She glanced at the few near-finished pieces that she had scattered about her. "I know it's not pretty like the window, but its okay right?" Lilo glimpsed Quasimodo's face, noticing his bewildered expression. She sighed, letting her eyes stray to her bleeding finger which was now lying on her lap. She sniffed, her eyes clouding with tears. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I only wanted you to forgive me! I didn't mean to break it... but I guess that I did... and... that's why you're mad..."

Lilo rubbed her eyes quietly, holding back sobs and letting her tears fall in silence. This was stupid, she told herself. Of course he wouldn't like it. And it seemed like such a good idea at first... but now everything's ugly and she didn't make anything better...

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Quasimodo's feet as he approached. Getting down on his knees, Quasi placed himself beside Lilo, reaching out to take a piece of glass by the string. Lilo looked up at him in silence, watching as he put the shard into the light, noticing that gentle smile as he looked at the reflection.

"It really is pretty, isn't it?" Quasimodo asked. Lilo noticed a slight tremble in his voice as he spoke.

Lilo nodded quietly, unsure of what he was going toward.

Quasimodo glanced down at her, tears clouding his vision, and, putting down the glass, he reached out and brought Lilo into a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered, burying his face into her shoulder. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for being so stupid and mad... You're a wonderful little girl and I don't ever want to hurt you again."

"It's okay," Lilo said. "So, you forgive me?"

Quasi smiled.

"Of course I forgive you."

"Even after I messed up your glass?" she asked, gesturing sheepishly to the creations that she had worked the past hour on.

Quasimodo laughed.

"They're fine Lilo. I know what you're trying to do... but maybe we should do it differently."

Lilo nodded. "We means both of us, right?"

Quasimodo nodded, wiping away the tears and a smile lighting up his deformed face. "What else would it mean?"

**A/N: And... the end! Okay... now, if Fallen Wraith is still reading, which would devastate me greatly if she wasn't, Frollo's coming in the next chapter. Not completely a confrontation between the two characters just yet, but he's there, y'know! So, if you would be so kind, keep reading, and tell me what you think of this chapter! And, um, BookRose? Thank you so much for your comments; they made me happy. But, Inner and Exterior Agony? Was I that good? ha-ha! Okay, I'm just being annoying. But, Review! Please! **


	13. Marie

**Hawaiian and the Hunchback**

**A/N: Lucky, lucky chapter thirteen. There are some parts of this chapter that might seem awful stupid to you guys, like the whole "I can see the gargoyles move and talk" kind of thing. Forgive me. I know that it's very idiotic, but I just suspected that Lilo was more capable of seeing them than angry shudder Madellaine. So yeah, she can talk and see the gargoyles. Frollo's first appearance in this chapter! Scream or cheer, whatever my few readers choose to do, do it! He doesn't do much, just "appears", and Lilo doesn't really even acknowledge him or anything, so it isn't that momentous, but READ DARN YOU!!!! Read and Review. Pwetty Pwease? **

**Chapter 13 **

He had only two days left, and Lilo still was nowhere in sight.

Stitch scratched a distressed toe against the stone-paved floor of the great gypsy forum, growling with disdain at his luck. Lilo could be anywhere, and the minute but finalized time limit that he had been given was slowly slipping away through the inch-long nails of his bound hands. He twisted uncomfortably in his spot, shooting a nasty glance up at the old gypsy Matthias, whose fingers were busy yet again with Stitch's hair, tugging and pulling painfully on the roots. Matthias noticed the fleeting look and returned it with a clicking of his tongue.

"Little Creature should learn to respect his new master," he said. And, as if demonstrating his power over the poor experiment, he tugged a little harder than he had previously, causing Stitch to jump and yelp at the sudden sharpness. Matthias released a creaking laugh, shook another finger at his captive, and then turned to continue his work, leaving Stitch to curse him inwardly.

Stitch was tied up quite nicely (though the experiment would've bluntly disagreed that anything about the whole situation was "nice"), the whole of his body restrained, no spot of blue fur visible on his torso for the coils of rough rope. Stitch suspected he could've ripped through them if there weren't so many (Matthias had used more than one length), and besides, the Skeleton Guard would be watching for him now, and escape would be much harder. Even crawling on the ceilings wouldn't work; they were hidden everywhere, silent but ever watchful of those around them. Even Stitch had been surprised when they had pulled from the walls, perfectly camouflaged against the lining of rotting skeletons.

He had attempted escape earlier on. Matthias had suspected him tame enough to relinquish any thoughts of ever leaving, inexperienced old fool that he was, and had restrained Stitch only by a short tether tied to the wheel of his wagon and had left for a short nap. Stitch, after assuring himself that Matthias would not come back for quite a while, chewed through the rope without a hitch and rushed off to the mouth of the court without so much as a child noticing his disappearance. The catacombs were dark and maze-like, silent as the grave that it was hidden beneath. The only sound that he had picked up as he sniffed his way through the labyrinth was the splashing of his own feet through the rank sewage that seeped along the path's floors. He had seen the exit up ahead, picking up the ascending steps with his sensitive eyes, and for a moment he had thought he was safe. But, soon enough, those men had jumped from the walls, another sack was thrown above his head and the next time he found himself free, Matthias was glaring down at him as he lectured and ranted in an incomprehensible tongue. Stitch would've run then, but the sudden light was so dazzling to his eyes he had found himself rather bewildered for quite a time. It wasn't until later, when Matthias was thanking him, that Stitch had seen the costumed guard that had caught him.

Note to self, Stitch had told himself bitterly, maim him later.

Behind him, Matthias released a sudden happy exclamation.

"AHA!" He laughed creakily. "It is finished!"

Stitch lifted a curious ear to the gypsy's words, realizing the raking movements of Matthias' bony fingers had stopped tormenting his scalp. He found himself wondering just what the old gypsy was showing such excitement for. Matthias grabbed the thick binding ropes and lifted Stitch up off the uneven floor, tossing him ecstatically up into the air and catching him just inches before the poor creature collided with the cobbles. He repeated this several times, each time just narrowly saving the poor creature before he met the pain of the floor below, and once even receiving him upside down. Stitch felt himself becoming rather aggravated by Matthias' mysterious actions, not to mention quite sick (both physically and mentally), and found himself holding back several expletives as the old man twirled the animal about in a happy circle.

When Matthias had finished his nauseating little dance and half the court had turned away from their work to stare inquisitively at the aged gypsy, he drew the creature to him, Stitch doing his best to hold back any vomiting that he felt might occur, and, still grinning widely, brought him to a red jug.

"Look how lovely you look now, rabbit," he said, holding Stitch above the rim-cracked pottery. The crimson pot was filled halfway with semi-clear water, supposedly drinking water that Matthias apparently wanted to use as some sort of mirror. Stitch glanced back at the old gypsy, still suspicious, but then glanced back at the reflection in the jug, undeniably dubious, but nevertheless curious. The light was dim and his image was a bit difficult to discern, but after a while Stitch was able to sight his reflection. Just one glance forced his eyes open wide, and Stitch found himself throwing another one of his patented Experiment 626 temper tantrums.

After growling and wriggling so badly that Matthias dropped him into the water jug, Stitch found himself sitting rather miserably, once again tethered to the wagon's wheel, but this time soaking wet. He had smashed the clay pitcher into several large pieces with his leg force alone, and Matthias, having spent all happiness on finishing his task, found himself more or less on the verge of a tantrum of his own. He had stormed out, claiming he needed a break, and leaving Stitch's keeping to a child, who watched the creature curiously from a far corner.

Stitch glared at the child, who then started and looked away, uncomfortable toward being around such a strange beast. Once the boy had gone, Stitch released an indignant sigh, and fell irritably face down onto the court's floor. A lock of blue hair fell into his face, and he growled at the glittering of gold that was attached to his indigo fur. His do, his perfectly fine hairdo, was now ruined. Gold beads and other such knickknacks now hung off of the top of his head, and sadly, because of the state that his new "master" had left him in, he wasn't quite at liberty to undo them. If it was possible, he would've ripped the hair right off of his head, ornaments and all; Stitch really hated so much ostentation (though had was undeniably a show off in certain situations), and the gold was horribly gaudy. Besides, it clashed totally with his hair.

Stitch sighed and rolled over, unable to swat the strands from his face, and growled yieldingly. He was just too tired to do anything at the moment.

"Poor creature," a fluty voice sympathized. Stitch sniffed his nose uncomfortably; closing his eyes tight for what he knew was coming up. A second later, a black-gloved hand reached out and rubbed Stitch's head roughly. Of course, the experiment had expected this, familiar with the "king's" mannerisms, but Stitch said nothing; he was wearing out his stomach just keeping his feelings internal!

Clopin placed himself beside the blue experiment, crossing his legs and looking down at Stitch kindly.

"Don't worry, my dear dog," he said, smiling. "He'll grow on you. He may be an old fool who doesn't understand fully other people's feelings and thinks he's able to do your job better than you could," Clopin's voiced turned uncharacteristically embittered at this sentence, "but, he's the type that'll grow on you… eventually."

The gypsy king's smile slowly shrunk, and he shook his head, leaning backward and balancing himself on his palms. He lifted his face up to the curved ceiling in thought, his eyes deep and fogged. Seconds later, he sighed.

"I hope."

* * *

"Excuse me?"

Quasimodo looked down at Lilo questioningly, his fingers still resting on the shelf that he had been rummaging through only seconds before. Lilo ran her hands through Scrump's yellow hair as she sat on the wooden floor, glancing up from her doll's face to repeat her question.

"Who were you talking to?" she answered.

"What do you mean?"

"This morning, when you were still mad at me for breaking your window," Lilo began, grimacing at the recent and acrimonious memory, "you were outside and you were talking to somebody. I didn't get to see them or anything, so I kind of just wanted to know… Who were they?"

Quasimodo realized what she spoke of and he nodded his head quietly, sighing and returning his eyes to the rough shelves that he had constructed himself long ago. He had been looking for string, he remembered, and his old awl for his and Lilo's project. The rainbow mobile had been, for quite a while, all that he had been thinking about for the past few moments, but now he found himself quite preoccupied with her question. Who had he been talking to? She had asked… How should he respond?

"My… friends," Quasimodo answered, obviously not without any hesitation on his part. The hunchback had become more trusting of Lilo, true, but he still was rather intent on not seeming a fool to her. After all, his master's first reaction to Quasimodo's "friends" when the lad had gained enough courage to reveal them wasn't at all a pleasant one.

"Your friends?" Lilo asked, adopting a somewhat surprised expression. "I didn't know that you had any friends, Quasimodo…" She shook her head after speaking, apologizing immediately. "Not that I don't think that you can't make any friends, because you definitely can; I mean I _am_ your friend and that's because you're nice! So, don't think that I mean that you couldn't do that, because I really don't want to hurt your feelings, not that I'm just saying that not to, because I would never…" Lilo had already been waving her hands about animatedly, and the whole conversation had just about tired her out, even though her words were rather short despite their rambling sense. She shook her head, putting her arms to her side. "Never mind! What I mean is… is, I haven't _met_ your friends yet, and I want to!" She looked up at him unconvincingly.

Quasimodo chuckled to himself at the little girl's attempt at courtesy, knowing that if she hadn't tried to catch herself he would've easily allowed her to say whatever she wanted without claiming offense against her. After all, she was just a little girl, and though this was his first encounter with one, he was soon realizing what they had and what they hadn't (assuming that Lilo was a quite normal girl, which even he was having doubts about at the moment). Apparently, Lilo was at an age when tact was still at a developing stage, he shouldn't expect her to understand his feelings completely. But despite this leniency, Lilo was doing a wonderful job in empathizing with him so far, even though there were certain moments when it seemed she lost herself.

"So can I?"

Lilo's voice broke through his musing.

"Can you do what?" The teenager asked, straining to glance over his shoulder at the little girl.

"Meet your friends," Lilo answered. "I'd like to meet your friends."

Quasimodo stiffened momentarily at the request, coughing unsurely into his fist. He should've expected something like this.

"You'd like to meet my friends?" Quasimodo echoed questioningly, his fingers running across the splintering shelf without a real reason anymore.

"Yup," Lilo answered, smiling sheepishly.

Quasimodo sighed, pushing a flaming lock of hair away from his face and slipping the numerous strands behind one large ear. He stood motionless for quite a while, silent, and Lilo felt embarrassment rising up again within her. Maybe she shouldn't have asked at all…

"Alright," he replied after several moments of deliberation. He turned about, quite forgetting just what he was searching for amongst the crude and cluttered shelves, reaching a hand out to assist Lilo to her feet.

"Alright!" Lilo exclaimed delightedly, taking his hand, her arm circled about Scrump's neck.

Quasimodo led her down the system of ladders and steps that formed the path down to the outer walkway of Notre Dame, out into the crisp air. They headed to the stone balustrade that they had visited the night before, though a different area of it, Lilo realized, for here, four stone figures leant over, peering into the disorganized stretch of houses and streets that was Paris.

Lilo looked back and forth along the narrow way, searching for a sign of the bell ringer's comrades, her arm tightening about Scrump with excitement. But, all that Lilo saw was the length of concrete that led across the face of one tower, the hewn railings and the quartet of chipped, stone gargoyles. She glanced up at Quasimodo inquiringly, unsure if it would be stupid of her to question the situation, because for sure she didn't completely understand what was going on.

Quasimodo seemed rather steadfast though, standing and waiting as if his friends were standing before him in plain sight.

Maybe, Lilo thought after another uncertain scan, his friends are invisible. I mean, _I_ used to have invisible friends, until Nani told me she didn't believe me when I told her it was their fault cookies kept on disappearing from the jar…

So, Lilo, sure that Quasi's friends were imaginary, approached the area, not wanting Quasimodo to feel stupid. She smiled weakly, and took a large sigh in preparation.

"Wow, Quasi!" She said, putting on her best excited voice as she could. "They look so cool!"

Quasimodo seemed taken aback for a second, both surprised that she hadn't reacted angrily as his master had done at first and at her unusual usage of the word "cool". Whether or not it was used with a positive connotation attached he wasn't entirely sure, but he assumed it was a good thing to be "cool". After all, she had said it with such enthusiasm. She must've meant well.

"You…" he started off, clearing his throat of any astonishment, "you really think so?"

Lilo nodded her head, hiding her face from Quasi as best as she could. Over the years, she learned that the expressions on her face were usually what gave her away during any deceit she might attempt.

Quasimodo approached the stone railing, placing a gentle hand on the back of one gargoyle, its face worn, its head crowned and horned.

"This is Laverne," he said, introducing Lilo to his 'friend'.

OH, Lilo thought sheepishly. So they weren't invisible.

"Hi," Lilo said, waving embarrassedly at the gargoyle. How else was she supposed to react? Maybe, Lilo thought, I should just pretend. I don't want to embarrass him. So that's what she did. She imagined the gargoyle alive, its eyes staring at her, its stone limbs moving much more flexibly than usual…

Suddenly, Lilo noticed with a start and exclamation, the statue soon became animated, hopping about face to look the young girl over. It worked! She screamed in her head. For some reason, that scared her immensely.

"This is your little friend, Quasi?" She - or he, Lilo speculated, because she couldn't really tell - asked the hunchback, turning to the teenager as she asked, but continuing to pass glances at the little girl, who still stood, surprised, to the side.

Quasimodo nodded, gesturing in her direction.

"This is Lilo."

Laverne nodded but looked at Lilo doubtfully.

"Isn't she the one who broke your, you-know-what?" She said after a time. The mention of the incident seemed to upset Quasimodo for a second or so, but he shook it off, and patted his friend on the back.

"It's alright, Laverne," Quasimodo said, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine now."

"You sure, Quasi?" Laverne asked. Lilo didn't seem to notice, but the aged gargoyle's eyes didn't move from her little form. She still seemed rather skeptical about the Hawaiian's intentions, especially after the emotional blow that Lilo had given her boy, which of course the bell ringer had told her all about.

"Don't be such a wrinkled old cynic," another voice said in response to the question. "NO ONE likes a cynic. I mean, I understand the wrinkled and old part; can't help that, can you? I mean, because, MAN are _you _wrinkled and old, but come on, she's what, ten?"

"Five," Lilo corrected the hog-like gargoyle, which had popped into life just moments ago. She was beginning to become comfortable about the whole situation. Seconds after he began moving, Laverne had promptly pushed him off the balustrade and told "Hugo" to "stuff some hose into it," or something to that effect. Lilo turned her head, not completely understanding the expression.

"Such a young little lady," the tallest gargoyle began, springing into animation as well. He seemed the stuffed-shirt type, Lilo noted, glancing at his pompous expression as he perused her as well. "It seems our Quasimodo has finally found himself a companion, a friend, someone to hold onto and trust!"

Quasimodo nodded proudly, blushing as Lilo glanced up at him with a smile. She was proud of him too, for one reason or another.

"This is Victor," Quasimodo said, coughing into his hand.

Victor bowed his head politely and Lilo returned it with a clumsy curtsy.

Hugo got up from his spot on the floor, rubbing his nose (which Laverne had punched disdainfully) and muttering about a chipped tooth. Shaking off the pain and the wisecracks that Laverne poured onto him once he had gotten to his…erm… once he had gotten up, he hopped over to Lilo. He eyed Scrump curiously.

"What's that you got there, kid?" He asked, pointing a stone hoof at the green doll. Lilo introduced the doll to the moving gargoyles, who all turned their attention to the little rag toy, crowding about Lilo to inspect it inquisitively.

"Boy is it ugly," Hugo said, his tact leaving him yet again. Lilo frowned unhappily at his remark, but Laverne had gotten him to shut up before Lilo could say anything.

"You're one to talk, pig face," She had said. Hugo was quiet for a moment, an indignant look on his fat face.

"You're just jealous that you couldn't have a face like mine," he said.

"You can have it," Laverne retorted, rolling her eyes. "Even though it might help in getting these BUZZARDS OFF MY BACK!" She exclaimed, waving her arms about and directing the last bit of her sentence to the many birds that had perched themselves on her head and wings. Lilo laughed quietly, hiding her smile behind her hand in an attempt to be polite. Gosh these people were fun.

"I've got to go polish the bells," Quasimodo said, grinning pleased at the quick friendship that the four had developed. "Sophia's getting a little cloudy."

"Don't worry," Victor told him, saluting him. "We'll take care of this adorable little girl, won't we now?"

"Yeah," Hugo agreed. "If she's with me, you know she'll be safe!"

"As if we'd leave her with you," Laverne said.

"Yes," Victor continued. "I was leaning more toward Laverne and me, Hugo."

Quasimodo left, laughing as Hugo released more indignant replies.

"Figures the little people would gang up on the big guy," he said, meaning he was the better of all of them.

"Very big," Laverne muttered. Hugo fumed, and Lilo laughed.

"Don't worry," Victor said, patting his friend on the back. "We don't all hate you."

"Why, thanks, Victor," Hugo smiled.

"So why don't you go play with Marie as we take care of Lilo?" Victor said, pointing to the final gargoyle that had remained motionless on the balustrade. Lilo looked at her quietly, at her slouched back, and wondered silently just why she chose to remain alone while the others didn't.

Hugo seemed rather angry at the suggestion and voiced his opinion to Victor and Laverne rather loudly. They both shushed him, clapping two sets of hands over his snout and shaking their heads angrily. Lilo watched their peculiar behavior with a lifted eyebrow.

"You imbecile," Victor hissed, glaring at Hugo. "No doubt she's heard you; you know how she'll react!"

"What are you talking about?" Lilo asked. Her voice was far from a whisper and all three jumped.

"That's Marie," Hugo said, gesturing to the gargoyle.

"Why's she sitting there all alone?" Lilo asked. Marie, still lurking on the ledge, turned her head and glanced over one deformed shoulder at the whispering group. It was a rather ugly creature, Lilo admitted to herself, but it would be rude to say so. "She looks sad," Lilo said, watching as the gargoyle sighed and supposedly returned its attention to the thriving city below. "Why don't we invite her over?"

"Look, kid," Hugo said, shaking his head wildly, looking at her as if she was crazy. "She isn't what you'd call a 'nice goyle'."

"And, in my opinion, she isn't sad as you suspect," Victor said, taking a fleeting look at the crouched stone creature. "She always looks like that… and it's of more a malicious nature, I think."

"How do you know?" Lilo asked, always willing to give people chances. "Have you asked her about it?"

The three gargoyles shared a three ways glance, an incredulous look on their stone facades. Could she actually be protecting Marie? The three huddled together, excusing themselves from Lilo, who waited, wondering just what they were discussing that she wasn't able to hear. Probably adult problems, she thought in annoyance. She shook her head, and then placed her attention back to Marie, who seemed to feel the weight of Lilo's eyes on her back. She turned and stared back, that same expression on her deformed face. Lilo continued her gaze with curiosity. What about her made the other gargoyles so reluctant to hang out?

"Why is she doing that?" Hugo asked his two comrades. "No one EVER wants to talk to Marie. She actually kind of scares me, really. Crazy kid."

"Don't think she's crazy just because she wants to give someone a chance," Laverne said. "Just think. Because of her, Quasi isn't that lonely anymore. Besides, she hasn't met Marie before, so she shouldn't know."

"Yes," Victor agreed. "We should just make sure that she never gets to meet her. I wouldn't want to let the poor girl suffer…"

"HEY! OVER HERE!"

The three nearly flaked from Lilo's sudden beckoning, and they turned to see her calling as Marie turned yet again, this time hopping to face the quartet. They stiffened in foreboding and they all three leapt to silence the girl. Lilo fought back in annoyance, wriggling as best as she could away from their stone fingers.

"What? What do you want? What are you…?"

"That's not a good idea, kid!" Hugo exclaimed, his arms around her waist.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to…"

"Oh dear, it's too late," Victor said, and he let go, moaning and rubbing his temples. Everyone turned and saw the skulking Marie approach, her fists banging against the walkway as she moved.

"That wasn't very smart," Laverne told Lilo, and they all backed away as Marie made her approach.

"You called?" She said, staring at Lilo with her sunken eyes.

"Yeah. I'm Lilo," she said, sticking out a hand to receive the other's. Marie just stared at her outstretched palm incredulously, unmoving.

"What do you want?" She asked rudely, a growl in her voice. Lilo was a little surprised; after all, she was trying to be nice.

"Just a handshake," she said, a little confused at Marie's hostility.

"I'll give you a handshake," Marie said after several moments of consideration. The three gargoyles seemed a bit taken aback as the slouched figure reached out a large hand and took Lilo's, shaking it hard. Lilo withdrew her wrist after a moment, cringing at the slight pain.

"Thanks," Lilo said, rubbing her hand gently.

"So, I've given you a handshake," Marie said, a malicious look coming onto her ugly face. "Now I'll take your doll!"

With that, she snatched Scrump from Lilo's arm, the little Hawaiian just barely able to hold on as Marie backed away suddenly.

"Hey!" She exclaimed angrily. "That's mine!"

"Not anymore!" Marie snarled. "It's an even exchange! I gave you what you want, so you give me what I want! And I want your ugly doll!"

Lilo frowned vehemently and tugged Scrump's arm as hard as she could in an attempt to pull it back. She was suddenly beginning to realize that Marie was NOT a very nice person.

"Give it back!" Lilo screamed. "It's not ugly, and it's mine! Let go!"

"NO!" Marie returned, and she hopped up onto the balustrade, her height increase making it even more difficult for Lilo to hold on. Marie pulled harder, her stone muscles slowly starting to overpower Lilo's little ones. The Hawaiian strained harder, near tears. It was unfair! She couldn't just do that, stealing her doll!

Victor, Hugo, and Laverne, not able to stand back and watch this happened, grabbed Lilo's waist and assisted her, telling Marie to cease here discourteous effort and let Lilo be. But Marie, holding a big grudge against the trio for out casting her for so long, refused fervently and her yanks becoming stronger by the moment.

Just when Lilo felt she could no longer continue this venture and the hot frustration flowed down her cheeks in tears, she fell back suddenly onto the three friendly statues, a loud rip breaking the air. Marie was nowhere in sight, and Lilo felt a sense of foreboding for the single second that silence reigned. And then, out sounded a large crack of stone against stone, and screams from below floated upward. Lilo felt the color draining from her cheeks and she glanced at the arm that she still felt her fingers curled around. She gasped.

That was all that was there. An arm. The rest of Scrump had disappeared with Marie.

Lilo rushed over to the balustrade, glancing over the edge at the city below. The broken remains of Marie was scattered about the cobbles, a speck of green evident among the rubble. People below, luckily none hurt, surrounded the pieces, chattering, excited and frightened.

"What was it?" Lilo heard one say.

"A gargoyle," another answered. "It must've fallen off of Notre Dame."

"Fallen? Impossible! Someone must've tried to kill the judge! See, it almost crushed his carriage!"

Lilo noted a metal coach to the side, a startled black horse towing it.

"Who would've pushed it? There's only the bell ringer who lurks up there, and he wouldn't dare!"

"Yes," the other mused. "He's his foster son after all…"

"A GYPSY!" Lilo heard the exclamation, seeing a young girl below pointing up directly at her. "I SEE IT! A GYPSY, UP THERE!"

Everyone looked up and started exclaiming that they saw it too (all save a single man in black, who just stared up at her with out a heard word). Lilo paled and withdrew, pushing herself against the tower wall.

"I think I killed Marie," she told the three gargoyles. Not surprisingly they weren't at all concerned about that. What bothered them, though, were the screams of gypsy sightings. Lilo shrugged her shoulders at their questions, but looked away in fright, remembering that little girl and her point.

"I think I'm in trouble," she said.

She didn't understand how right she was.

**A/N: And… finish. Not really an introduction to Frollo really, I'll admit, but there's more later. Sorry I couldn't just cram it all into one thing, but hey. Okay, Mrs. Yaarp16 or whatever… THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW! AS YOU SEE I DID GO BACK TO STITCH! I had almost forgotten about him, to be truthful… And as for Arwen… You read the whole darn thing in one day? Dude! And thank you so much for your insights; they were rather helpful. And I guess I won't beat myself up anymore… I mean, I don't want you yelling at me… Just Kidding. I liked writing this chapter, especially the part about Stitch. And really, Seamless? You think? Wow. Thanks! New Chapter coming up in… A month maybe? I dunno. It's gonna be a good while, probably. It depends on how many people want to read it (which turns to be more people than I thought)! Um… It's either in a week or in a month. No more. Hopefully. Well… REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**And just for the hell of it…**

**FUN FACTS! WHERE I TELL STUFF ABOUT WHEN I WAS WRITING THIS STORY!**

**Fun Fact #1: Hawaiian and the Hunchback, though still in production, had gone through quite a few dramatic changes! One very big change that could be named is Quasimodo's age! Originally, Lilo came into Paris when Quasimodo was only about ten years old and a lot less understanding of the world below! I don't know when it changed, but there was a complication… I think it was that Lilo's influence on Quasi as a ten year old would change him too dramatically. So I made him nineteen instead! So, now you know!**

**-Guille van Cartier**


	14. Frollo

**Chapter 14**

**A/N: Chapter 14... It's chapter fourteen, right? Hm... Well, Here we are! Coolio, huh? I actually wrote it within a month... right? I think I did, I don't remember... Eh. Okay, about the story. Frollo's finally here, but Lilo doesn't get to talk to him, 'kay? Sorry 'bout that! ... Hm. I'm not gonna tell you much more, because I'd beat myself up and Spaztic'd hurt me for that, but okay. READ! ... then REVIEW!**

Quasimodo leapt down from Little Sophia's floor, landing without a hitch onto the level below. He clapped his hands together, ridding his palms of any dust that might have remained, and then tossed a varnish-stained rag onto a wooden table to the side. A job well done, thought he as his mind lingered on the now shining beauties that were his bells, If I do say so myself.

He was in a relatively good mood at the moment. He supposed it was how easily Lilo had come to accept his "friends", whom, he admitted, were less than conventional. But, then again, Lilo's normality seemed near inexistent, but he ignored that bit easily. She not only recognized the gargoyles as his companions, but she had agreed to befriend them without any obvious objection. She had even called them "cool" (which he still only suspected to be good), and smiled at them sincerely at greeting. He beamed at the thought. He really loved the little girl.

He climbed down the narrow ladder to the bell tower's exit, humming a song of his own invention, leaping over the last few rungs from his pleasant mood. The cool breeze rustled his hair gently as it flew in through the gothic arch of the door, the brighter tones of the outside passage sending a smile onto his usually melancholy face. He imagined her, Lilo, standing with Victor, Hugo, and Laverne, laughing, talking, introducing…

He was soon thrust from these thoughts by the little girl he was then thinking of, who crashed into him and landed with a painful thump onto the floor.

"Lilo!" Quasimodo exclaimed, pulling her from the slats as she cringed from the slight bruising. "Are you alright? You aren't hurt are you?"

Lilo shook her head, an anxious and preoccupied look in her wide eyes. Quasimodo stared at her in wonder, holding her shoulder and feeling the shaking of her little body. There was something wrong… he felt it.

"What happened?" He demanded, worry in his voice. Lilo seemed as if she wanted to speak, jumping up and down and waving her hands about as if she were trying to find the precise words. But nothing came out of that broad mouth but a stuttered gurgle, incomprehensible and frightening. Quasimodo shook his head, telling her that he couldn't quite understand what she was trying to tell him. Lilo looked at him helplessly, and continued her animated movements, a concerned look on her face.

Suddenly, Hugo, and Laverne rounded the corner, jumping into the tower's shadows, their expressions as obviously troubled as Lilo's.

"Quasi!" Laverne yelled out, hopping over. "We've got a problem here!"

"What is it? Why is Lilo acting so strangely?" He gestured uneasily toward Lilo, whom had still not found her proper voice.

"She dropped Marie," Laverne answered. "Off the balustrade," she snapped her fingers, "just like _that_."

"Oh god, nobody got hurt did they?" He asked, alarmed by the sudden news. The two shook their heads.

"Nobody. Except for Marie, that's for sure!" Hugo said, his voice filled with awe. "Crack! All over the square!"

"Not _all_ over!" Lilo exclaimed in her defense. Quasimodo turned at her, an obscure look on his face. Lilo cringed under his gaze, and looked down at the ground despondently. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to! But she took my doll, and she wouldn't give it back. And… and she ripped Scrump's arm!"

She lifted the remaining piece of green to Quasi's face, an indignant expression taking her. It was none other than Scrump's arm, its edges frayed, white stuffing falling from the open end. Quasimodo stared at it incredulously, scratching the back of his head.

"I-it's alright, Lilo," he answered. His tone was obviously unsure, and though he wasn't as angry as he was during the whole window escapade, he did seem a little upset about the whole thing. "We just have to – "

"QUASIMODO!"

Everyone turned to face the entrance, where the last gargoyle, Victor, rushed in, badly flustered.

"What is it?" Quasimodo asked, actually asking "what is it _now_?"

"Frollo's coming!" The gargoyle gasped out, pointing to the door. "He'll be here any second!"

"Frollo?" Lilo lifted her head inquisitively, scrunching her nose in confusion. "What's a –"

Quasimodo cut her short, grabbing her arm violently and rushing her up the ladder to the main level, mumbling anxiously to himself. Lilo followed him, barely able to keep up with his movements (sometimes even falling and being dragged across the floor). Whatever a Frollo was, thought Lilo, it sure was making Quasimodo scared.

"You've got to hide," he told her, ushering her toward the table of miniatures. He lifted up a ragged corner of the table cloth, gesturing underneath. "Go," he said, patting Lilo's back. "Hide, stay quiet, and don't come out until I say it's okay, alright?"

"I guess," she said, doing as she was told. She crawled beneath the lifted flap of cloth, and sat in the shadows as Quasimodo replaced the corner. Why was Quasimodo acting so weird? She asked herself, sitting against the stone feet that served as a table leg. And what the heck was a "Frollo"? She heard Quasimodo's heavy footsteps as they worked their way along the tower, mixed with a confused clatter of wood and iron. Lilo felt an anxious curiosity rising within her. What was going on?

She sat there, silent and a little frightened for a minute or two, questions and thoughts running rapidly through her head, raging like a river. What was Quasimodo so afraid of? Why did she have to hide? How long would she have to be beneath this table? Was that a spider web? She leaned forward to inspect the intricate web work that hung from the bottom of the table. She bumped her head against the wooden plank, screamed her OUCH, and was promptly shushed by Quasimodo. She frowned bitterly, massaging the thumping spot. What was he so worked up about?

There came, finally, a tone of muffled feet as they climbed up the stairs, and Quasimodo's restless rattling was halted. Lilo listened closely, uneasily, hugging her knees to her chest and straining to hear. The boards creaked, the wind whistled, a thick and ominous aura held the atmosphere.

"Good morning, Quasimodo," came a voice, silk smooth and cold, like the frost in winter. Lilo felt herself shivering involuntarily. There was something frightening about that voice, the tone of which it spoke. She didn't know what it was, or why it made her feel so ill at ease, but it did, and it lingered, hanging in the air like a malignant phantom. She pulled herself into a tighter knot.

"G-g-good m-morning, master," Quasimodo said in reply, his words tumbling clumsily over one another. Lilo heard a shuffling of feet, then the soft noises of moving cloth, then nothing. Nothing at all stirred the air about, not a spoken word, nor passing breeze. Silence ruled the bell tower for several troubling moments, and then Quasimodo once again spoke up.

"H-how, was your day, M-m-master?" He inquired. Lilo noted the anxiety in his shaking voice. She leaned over curiously, pushing the edge of frayed fabric away by an inch. She wanted to see.

There, sitting at another table on a wooden stool opposite her friend was a man, tall and angular, wearing little other color than black. A long sweeping robe hid his body, a large hat resembling some sort of evil life boat sat atop his white head. A veil of blood red brushed his back. Lilo felt herself shrinking just a bit. He didn't look very nice, or handsome at that matter. His thin mouth was frowning; his eyes were narrow and glaring at Quasimodo. The poor boy was looking despondently at a wooden plate that he had set before himself, glancing occasionally up at the man, awaiting an answer to his simple question.

"Actually, Quasimodo," the man said, finally speaking, "my day was rather interesting."

"Really, sir?" the bell ringer asked, politely interested.

"Yes," the man continued. "A very _interesting _thing happened to me not more than a few minutes ago."

Lilo gulped. This man looked eerily familiar…

"It occurred just when I had arrived at the church," the man said, starting his story. "I was just stepping out of my carriage when a great sound echoed across the square. I was a tad startled by it boy, you can be sure, and when I turned toward the church, what do you think I saw, lying on the ground just before my horse?"

Quasimodo swallowed uneasily, glanced back down at his dish, and asked, "W-w-what was it… sir?"

"A gargoyle!" Quasimodo's master replied. Lilo listened quietly to his voice. It sounded like he was half-lying about this, even though she knew it was perfectly true. "A stone gargoyle, broken into dozens of pieces on the square! Now, I was surprised about this, wouldn't you believe?"

"I can see why, master," Quasimodo whispered nodding.

"Would you happen to know _why _a gargoyle happened to have fallen, Quasimodo?" he asked, his voice more menacing than his words. Quasimodo shook his head quietly.

"It... it must have been the wind, master," he answered after a moment. "I-I was upstairs, polishing Sofia right up until you came and…"

"Ah, the wind… I see," the man said, nodding as if in understanding, though his face had disappointment evident in its creases. "Another odd thing… The people, below, claimed to have seen a… gypsy girl, lingering up on the balustrade. Why, they even say that it was she who pushed down the statue! Now, what do you make of that, dear boy?"

"A… a gypsy girl?" Quasimodo sounded incredulous, lifting his head abruptly to the news. His green-eyed gaze rested on his gaunt-faced master, then suddenly shifted to the spot where Lilo was hiding, beneath the crude table to the side. Lilo scrutinized his gaze, feeling suddenly ill at ease. His eyes shone unexpectedly distrustful, confusion sparking within their depths. The Hawaiian found herself cringing. There was something wrong…

"Yes," the man replied slowly. He seemed to realize Quasimodo's gaze and followed it suspiciously to the table. Lilo pulled herself back from fright, edging as far away from the two people as best she could. She hugged herself anxiously, wondering what was to happen. Had he seen her? "Dear boy…" She heard the man speak after a short, yet palpable silence. "Whatever are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Quasimodo replied quickly, and his eyes rooted themselves back on the wooden disc before him.

Lilo released a sigh of relief as quietly as she possibly could, but remained at the back. If he ever chanced at seeing her she doubted he would be pleasant. Though the words he spoke were near harmless, the way he spoke them seemed positively… evil. She drew her conclusions not only from the old animated movies that she watched but the feeling that that tone sent through her. She wanted it to go away…

Quasimodo felt near the same as his little friend. He was on the chopping block, he realized, and one false move and… His mind was so full of bewildered considerations, uncertainty, and emotion. He sighed, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. No… No, Lilo couldn't be a… could she? He had never asked, she had never told him… and… she was so… kind… She couldn't be a gypsy!

"A gypsy girl?" he asked with new confidence, losing his usual stutter. "I don't know what you're talking about. No one comes up here except for me, and I would never-"

Quasimodo's master frowned bitterly, a withering look shooting from those wary eyes. He stood up from the wooden stool, his black robes billowing about him in a sudden gust of winter wind. He pulled into the collar of his uniform and tossed something on the table before Quasimodo. It landed with an ominous clatter on his plate of wood, seeming nothing more than a lump of green at first glance. But it meant so much more than that…

"I do not appreciate being lied to, Quasimodo," Frollo said, a sinister edge to his once smooth voice. Quasimodo's eyes rested on the object, wide and shaking, his mouth opened soundlessly. It was so much more than just a meaningless ball of green. It was Scrump, staring up almost pleadingly at him with her button eyes, the threadbare remains of her left arm depositing stuffing. "I do not believe that this is yours, is it, Quasimodo?"

"Well, master, I…" Quasimodo began, searching his mind for the appropriate words. "I-I… I made-"

"I don't believe that's possible," Frollo interrupted, his scowl growing deeper with his son's next supposed lie. "You haven't access to such fabric; few people do. You're _hiding _her, aren't you?"

Heat smoldered in those black eyes and poison shot from that horrible look. Quasimodo cowered in his seat.

"No, master!" he said, shaking his head. "I-I'm not… I'm not…"

"After all I've taught you, after all I've done for you, you're lying to me! I took you in, boy, I saved your life! And you show me such disrespect!" His voice lifted to new and more horrible heights, and Lilo, who had only been listening for the past minute, found herself feeling the intense weight of his anger.

"I'm sorry, master," Quasimodo whispered.

"You expect that to make everything better, don't you, Quasimodo?" Frollo asked, slamming a fist down on the table, the iron and wood clattering onto the floor. His hat flew off in his fury, his hair becoming unkempt in the blowing wind. "She will lie to you, she will cheat you! She's a gypsy, boy! If ever she has the chance, she'll take your feelings and twist it to her own satanic uses! You idiot! You disregarding, naïve idiot!"

Quasimodo found himself shielding his face from his master, tears beginning to fall. No… he thought. She would never do that to me. Lilo… Lilo is my friend, she would never…

Lilo, beneath the table still, was crying silently already, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. This man, whomever he was that Quasimodo called master, was such a butthead! Quasimodo was only trying to help me, she thought. He _did_ help me! I would never hurt him on purpose! And he's not an idiot! Stupid, stupid man! She screamed in her head. She would've said something, would've shrieked every single one of these words and more at the man had she not wanted to stop Quasimodo from getting in any more trouble.

It's all your fault, came a cynical voice in her head. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be getting yelled at.

I know, she thought back, ignoring the tears as they saturated her collar, I already know that!

Frollo stared down at Quasimodo, and noticed how he was already weeping. A satisfied feeling crept into his blackened heart, and he placed the hand that he had lifted to strike on his son's head, offering him calming words. Yes, he thought venomously. Fear me, do as I say. I am giving you a second chance, you ungrateful monster. Do not spend it unwisely or you shall once again evoke my anger…

"I will give you until tomorrow morning, dear boy," he cooed, running his spidery fingers through Quasimodo's red hair. "Get rid of her in that time, dear, and don't ever mention her or think of her again after that, or God's wrath will be imposed upon you." And with those final, threatening words, Frollo picked up his hat from the floor, doffed it in a satisfied manner, and went his way out of the bell tower, leaving Quasimodo to weep.

Lilo peeked her head from beneath the table, wiping away the damp path that her tears had left as they fell.

"Can… can I come out now, Quasimodo?" she asked tentatively, noticing how sad Quasimodo seemed.

The hunchback turned his head quietly, and nodded, sighing sadly and brushing his own tears away.

Lilo crawled out of her hiding place, and immediately went to the crying Quasimodo, hugging him comfortingly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered quietly, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to get you in so much trouble…"

"It's alright, Lilo," Quasimodo answered quietly. He ran a hand through her black hair, shaking his head.

"I would never try to twist your feelings or whatever he said," she told him, looking up into his green eyes. "You took care of me. It would be wrong."

"I… I know, Lilo. But, tomorrow…" Quasimodo seemed to not want to mention the subject. "They might find you, and… I don't know what they'd do… They might hurt you…"

"I'm not a gypsy," she told him. "They wouldn't hurt me if I wasn't a gypsy!"

"You aren't a gypsy?" He asked unsurely, a glimmer of hope glittering in his eyes.

"Nope," she answered, smiling proudly. "I'm Hawaiian."

"Ha… Hawaiian?" Quasimodo repeated, confusedly. "What's that?"

"You don't know about Hawaii?" Lilo asked, surprised. "Wow, I thought _everyone _knew about Hawaii! It's an island, off the coast of America!"

"What's America?" Quasimodo asked, even more perplexed.

"You don't know about America?" Lilo asked disbelievingly. "WHERE AM I?!"

"Paris, France," Quasimodo answered, not realizing the sarcasm in Lilo's voice.

"France?" Lilo asked. That's an Earth country, right? Yeah, she thought. I saw it in Beauty and the Beast. So I _am_ on Earth! About time I found out!

"Never mind all that, Lilo," Quasimodo said, taking her hand. "You've got to go… or they're going to hurt you."

Lilo sighed, staring sadly at the floor.

"I know," she said after a while. "But… But I'm not a gypsy! Why would they-"

"Everyone thinks you're a gypsy," he told her. "Which means… to everyone… you _are_ one."

Lilo nodded, understanding what he meant by that. After all, that's how it was at home…

"But, what about our project?" Lilo asked, referring to the glass mobile that she had wanted so badly to make. "You promised we'd do it together, remember? It's unfair!"

"Lilo-"

"You _promised_," she said vehemently. "If you break a promise, it makes you a liar. Plus, it's bad luck. The monster's will come and get you and you'll never be able to eat cookies again because all of your teeth will fall out. At least, that's what Nani told me (not that it ever stopped me)…"

"But, Lilo…" Quasimodo began, an aggravated look on his face. Did she not understand how in danger she would be if she remained? If she got hurt, he didn't know what he would do. He looked down at her face, staring into those steadfast eyes and jutted chin. It was the face of determination, he thought, half-chuckling despite himself. She would stop at nothing until he agreed. "Oh, alright," he said finally.

Lilo smiled. That face almost _always_ worked.

"But… only tonight, okay?" He said, picking her up and placing her on his knee. He put his chin quietly on her shoulder, leaning his head against her cheek. "You'll have to go tomorrow. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Okay," she said, though there was obvious disappointment in her voice. She really didn't want to leave. Not only because she didn't have a place to go, but Quasimodo would be lonely all by himself in the bell tower. If she left he would get all depressed again and she'd feel bad. And it was all because that stupid old man had told him to. If only he never knew that she was here. If only he didn't know… "Wait a minute!" She said suddenly. "What if I come back after that old meanie leaves the church?"

"Old meanie?" Quasimodo asked, lifting a brow.

"You know," she said, "that old guy that was yelling at you."

"Oh, my master," Quasimodo said, his voice becoming a fearful whisper. "Frollo."

Oh, thought Lilo. That's what a Frollo was. No wonder Quasimodo was so scared before he came.

"Yeah," she said. "Him. What if I come back after he leaves? I'll wait outside when he goes in then when he comes back out I'll go back to the bell tower! So, he'll think I'm gone, but I'm really _not_!" Lilo's tone was rather excited. In her mind, the plot was ingenious, though simple it was, and would be hard to foil if done right! And, she thought, I know just how to do it right!

"So," Lilo continued, looking back at Quasimodo with expectance, "what do you think? It would work, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose…" Quasimodo said indecisively, his brow furrowed in deliberation.

You should consider yourself lucky, a voice in his head told him as negative consequences ran through his mind. Someone out there loves you enough to stay with you; loves you enough to want to come back so badly even though they have to leave. Think about it. You finally have a friend. Do you really want to lose her?

No, Quasimodo answered, I don't want her to go away… but, what if she gets hurt?

She has a plan, it replied. You know it might work. Why not give it a chance?

"Alright," Quasimodo replied. "You come back after he leaves… But, stay away, at the other end of the square or to the side. Just make sure he doesn't see you."

"But he's never seen me before," said Lilo, completely forgetting that black clad man that had stared up at her earlier, "he doesn't know what I look like! So why should I hide?"

"My master... he _hates_ gypsies. They're evil people; they are tricksters and liars, they worship the devil and do witchcraft. They kidnap children and _eat _them. Master has vowed to get rid of all of them, for the good of Paris. That's why he wanted to find you, that's why he didn't want me to help you."

"Okay," Lilo said, nodding, "hide at the far side of the square; make sure he doesn't see me. I get it. Okay."

"Alright…" Quasimodo said, pushing his hair back. "Alright… our project, then?"

"Yes!"

Dog walks are, despite popular and human-dominant beliefs, mainly dogs walking people. The humans do not _make_ the dogs go outside and look for places to execute their business; it is the dogs that decide usually. And the dogs are those usually dragging the people all over the town with such obvious friskiness while those "walking" them follow at a forced pace, there to hold them back when the need arises. So, though the name bestowed upon them is perfectly fine, the definition is usually quite wrong. Taking into exception a few owners who have somehow trained their dogs to follow other than lead, which I have seen before, though usually it is a small dog that is always shaking in fear of something. Yes, those can be taken into exception.

Oh yes, and this situation as well.

Stitch followed behind the old gypsy, slow and piqued, examining for lack of a better thing to do all the activity that surrounded him. He didn't much like being forced outside to take a walk in the state his hair was in, considering how he was now guised as a rabbit and no longer a dog. Apparently, considering Matthias' mumblings, Mr. Clopin King found it appropriate that a dog, even though it was obviously a rabbit, needed fresh air.

"Just think of the look on his face," Matthias mumbled as he dragged Stitch along, "if he saw how much my _rabbit_ didn't want to take this damned walk."

Stitch, who was only half-listening to the greybeard as he continued on his upset tangent, growled in agreement to the statement and sniffed the air appraisingly. There was an old dirtiness to the air, he noted, snubbing his large nose in irritation. It was pungent with chimney smoke and, Stitch snorted in disgust, _body odor_. Not that he was unused to that sharp stink; he had quite the history with it having lived in Hawaii amongst uncleanly tourists for so long. And the court of miracles wasn't exactly the best smelling place in all of Paris. He had just managed to forget it for so long. But now, as he had little better to do, it was so _obvious_… and more than just a little nauseating, you can be sure.

They were continuing down the avenue, Matthias still rambling on about getting up from his nap, when a loud crack bounded from the square just ahead. Stitch's ears pricked up suddenly, his head held high, his muscles tense with anxiety. Shouts and screams could be heard from the plaza, frightened gasps, questions being asked. What had happened?

Suddenly, Stitch felt the rough rope of his crude leash pulled tight across his neck, and was soon dragged after Matthias, whom had found as much interest as he had.

"A GYPSY!" A little girl screamed, pointing up at the balustrade. "A GYPSY! I SEE IT! A GYPSY UP THERE!"

Stitch furrowed a brow, but looked upward anyway, to where the girl had pointed. But, by the time his head had turned, all that he was able to catch was a wisp of black hair as the person withdrew. He didn't know why, but there was a saddened twang on his heartstrings at the sight, and he felt himself looking on the ground in wonder. What was it? He felt something. But what was it?

"Ah, it's nothing but a gargoyle," Matthias said at length, and, with a tug at the leash, he led Stitch away.

**A/N: And… finish. Okee dokee, there was s'posed to be more, but I thought, heck, seven pages was enough, and I _really _wanted to get this on the internet already. So, that was the chapter, read and review, s'il vous plait. See, I told you Frollo didn't have a talk with Lilo yet. You'll have to wait for a few more chapters until _that _happens. So, I hope you'll keep reading. Thank you.**

**FUN FACT #2**

**In the original concept of Hawaiian and the Hunchback, Lilo and Stitch had started in outer space and was almost sucked into a wormhole, and stuff happened. I don't' remember much, because the scientific exegesis was just too much for me to make out, but they were supposed to have survived the ordeal because of another of Jumba's inventions. Not exactly and anti-anti-matter gun, but something of the like. They were supposed to be found drifting along space by friendly aliens, and deposited on what Lilo and Stitch described as Earth. Sadly, though it was 500 years in the past. I had written this lovely part when Stitch was watching Lilo in the recovery chamber and hoping she wouldn't die. A _lot_ of thinking in _that _version.**


	15. Talisman

**Author's Note:** Oh, look at that! The fifteenth chapter is finally here! Isn't that such an odd thing? I suspect that it's been about a week or two… maybe more; I'm not that good with time. Sorry, Yaarp16 for taking so long, but I had a severe case of writer's block… Actually, I had all things planned out, but none of the earlier drafts really got out what I wanted. And then I wrote this one, which I hope you guys think is as good as I do! Well… Okay, it's not _wonderful_, but I'm satisfied with it! And, Bridgie, nice to meet the biggest Quasimodo ZDFG out there! I think I might be somewhere in the teens in that category… But anyway, you know the drill. Read and review!

**Chapter 15**

"And… we're finished!"

"Finally!" Lilo exclaimed, leaning over Quasimodo's shoulder as his hands pulled away from the final knot. "That took a lot longer than I thought it would."

"Well, a lot happened today," Quasimodo suggested, looking over their creation, a satisfied smile creeping onto his deformed face. "I had my chores, like I always do, and that took a lot of time out of it."

"Plus we had to look for half the things we needed," Lilo added. "That took a long time, too."

Quasimodo laughed gently, nodding his head in agreement.

"Yes, it did," he concurred. "But it was all worth it, don't you think?"

"Yup," Lilo said, nodding, stepping to stand beside the hunchback, her eyes wandering over the many glass shards that were laid artistically disorganized upon the bell tower floor. "Too bad we didn't get it done before it turned night, huh?"

The hunchback nodded in reply, his attention making its way upward to an open window, through which the dark-blue ether of night sky and its many twinkling stars could be discerned. It _had_ taken them quite a while. The sun, he believed, should be still somewhat lingering at the hilly horizon, a mere sliver of fiery red barely maintaining its spot in the sky. They had hoped to have completed the piece before the sun was in setting, when the rays of the gold would shine through the wide windows and cast the diamonds of light that he and Lilo had imagined. But, drilling the small holes into the many shards had been a meticulous task, and threading them with string and wire, though easier to accomplish, took almost as good an eye as the former undertaking.

They had fashioned several different mobiles instead of the one that they had originally planned on creating, the larger pieces tied off to the side with rope other than metal wire or thread. The different sets were placed along the floor, adjacent to the miniature's table, taking up quite a bit of space as they ran along the wall, side to side. If one thought of it, the fact that the two had finished the whole of it in a single afternoon seemed something of a miracle! Perhaps, eagerness and friendship were their impetuses. Whatever it was, Quasimodo found himself thanking it profusely. Though he did feel a sort of disappointment for losing out on the most recent opportunity to see his creation at work, he was pleased that he wouldn't have to wait more than a day to see it.

"Are we going to put it up now?" Lilo asked excitedly, an enthusiastic grin spread across her face.

"Sure," Quasimodo answered, coming up off his knees and dusting off his hands. "I think I have some time to do it before I have to ring the evening mass."

"Alright!" Lilo exclaimed, jumping up into the air ecstatically.

Chuckling, Quasimodo patted the little girl on the head and went to pick up the first mobile. Lilo rushed after him, all smiles.

"I wanna help!" She said, reaching for one of the metal rods that would support the hanging fixture.

"I don't think that you should do that, Lilo," Quasimodo said, alarmed, reaching across to claim the black iron that the little girl was holding.

"Don't worry, I won't get hurt," Lilo replied, only half recognizing what Quasimodo was saying. She lifted up the support, the glass shards colliding dangerously into one another with her less-than-gentle movement.

"Lilo, really, I don't think that you should…"

"Where are we going to put it?" She interrupted, smiling widely.

Quasimodo sighed quietly, shaking his head but smiling all the while. She was so ridiculous sometimes, he thought. He figured that it wouldn't be such a good idea if Lilo were to do anything with the mobiles. He knew that she loved them a lot, being the main coordinator of their creation, but it might be dangerous if they fell and broke more, not to mention their undeniable fragility. He wanted her to be safe. But, being the person he was, he didn't want to hurt her feelings and just tell her to leave… what was he supposed to do? He didn't want her to stop smiling… not at the moment, not that she was happy again, after the day before and the morning's events.

"Lilo," Quasimodo began, thinking as he spoke, "you know how tomorrow you're going to leave in the morning?"

"Ugh," the Hawaiian groaned, grimacing momentarily at the thought. "Yeah… I remember."

"My master… he's a very meticulous person," Quasimodo continued. "He'd look hard for you, if he thought you were here."

"That's why I'm leaving, right?"

"I guess… but, what I'm trying to say is… Well, no matter how kind my master is, he's also very passionate on his beliefs… You saw that this morning. But… What I'm saying is, if ever he found a trace of you, well…"

"He'd get mad, and you'd get in trouble again," Lilo finished for him, a guilty look on her face.

"Yes… I was just thinking that maybe… maybe you should get all of your things and pack them… so that neither of us would get in trouble," Quasimodo finished. Looking at Lilo's face, he was half-regretting having said all that. She wasn't smiling anymore, her expression now worried and guilty.

"Of course I'll do it!" Lilo answered, replacing the rod on the ground. "I'll get it done now, okay? I don't want you to get in trouble again!"

And, with that, she rushed off to get her bag.

Quasimodo smiled, picking up the main support of one of the mobiles with the greatest of care. He climbed up onto the table, making sure not to step onto any of the models that he had carved, and, reaching up with his free hand, he grabbed the beam that ran above him. He swung himself on top of the timber, taking care not to jar any of the glass pieces as he made the arc onto the wood. Pulling the mobile slowly up with him, he made his way up to a slightly higher support, tying the mobile onto it with a length of rope attached to the iron rod. He hoped that he could get this done before Lilo came back or he had to do the evening mass… whatever came first.

Lucky for Quasimodo, Lilo had scattered her things all over the bell tower and strove to gather the items away from the main area. Her packing wasn't that difficult, though. She had been able to get most of the objects that she had taken into the world, from her blankets to her potato chips, and was just picking up a stack of doodles that she had created just a day ago when she came across an impediment.

"Hey… where's Red?" She asked, shuffling through her box of Crayolas. Her most used crayon, her dearest Red, was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Lilo inquired aloud, casting scrutinizing glances about her. "I could've sworn that he was here a minute ago…"

Finally, a second after her search had began, she saw her red crayon, lying several meters to the side with its blunted tip and ripped wrapping. Sighing with relief, she stomped toward the cylinder of wax, a false frown on her face.

"If I didn't like you so much I'd abandon you right now," she said, shaking a finger at the poor red crayon. "It's not nice to go running off like that!"

Deciding that Red had been chastised enough, she bent down to pluck the crayon off the floor. But, once her hand had barely touched him, Red, having seemingly different ideas, bounded away, stopping just on top of a knot in the floorboards that opened to the levels below.

"Stupid crayon," Lilo muttered bitterly, rather cross with Red but fond of him enough not to want him to plummet. Dropping her bag onto the floor with an undeniable attitude, she readied herself, tiptoeing a predatory circle around the crayon. She hissed, baring her teeth as if she were some sort of wild animal.

"The lioness circles her prey quietly, the thought of dinner on her mind," Lilo narrated, continuing the ring around Red, a fierce glint in her brown eyes. "What's on the menu tonight? _Red Meat_." She licked her chops for emphasis, crouching into a pouncing position. "She waits for the right moment… if she misses, her prey will disappear and probably will never be seen again, even if she _did_ want to go under those moldy old floors and look for him. Her only chance for survival is to catch him…NOW!"

And, with an extraordinary war cry mixed with a disdainful hiss, she leapt, stretching her arms forward to where Red was resting. With an unpleasant thump, she landed, groaning with impact, her fingers knocking the wax cylinder, sending it flying in a small arc in the air. She muttered vehemently in irritation, making a clumsy attempt to regain her equilibrium and stand as she watched the crayon land and continue to roll. Once she had finally achieved her posture, Red had bounded off into oblivion and was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Lilo asked incredulously, brushing off her dress as she finally got to her feet. The disappearance of the Crayola was indeed rather bewildering, not to mention eerie… it was there a second ago… She had been keeping as good an eye on it as she possibly could as she was tripping over her dress. But there was nothing. Red had made his grand escape.

Understandably curious, Lilo made her way to the shadows where the crayon had disappeared to in order to investigate. It was only a moment or so before she realized what had happened.

There in the floor, on a floorboard a few feet away from the original, there was a large gnarl in the wood that opened up into a dark, obscure place. Unlike the other, there wasn't a trace of visible floor beneath, so, Lilo, being the smart girl that she was, concluded that there must be another beam or something that it caught on.

"You're lucky Red," she said into the knot, wiping her hand on the lap of her dress and wriggling her fingers. "If it weren't for that beam, I wouldn't even be _trying _to get you!"

The hole appeared large enough for one of her fisted hands to fit through, luckily enough. She was planning to put her hand down the knot and search for her red crayon, and if she was fortunate enough, salvage him.

"This is going to be gross," Lilo said, cringing as she plunged her hand into the darkness. Immediately, she felt the dust of years and the clinging gossamers of spider webs, hopefully abandoned. She wrinkled her nose, sticking her tongue out in utter disgust, but continued, nevertheless, to search for Red.

For the first few minutes, she came across nothing but mustiness and, in one horrifying instance, a supposed rat.

"Where are you, you stupid crayon?" She asked in frustration. It was then that her hand met with something quite unusual. It was dusty, of course, but it wasn't a spider, or a rat, or anything like that. It had more of a solid feel to it, and, she noted with an added touch, a metallic cold to it. Curious as ever, the five-year-old snatched the object as best she could and pulled her hand slowly out of the hole.

What first greeted her was undeniable disgusting at first, an accumulation of dust and cobwebs, mold and whatever else may have come to start growing on it. She had tossed it away from her with a startled scream upon first sight. But, later on, with renewed courage (and an old rag she had insightfully packed in her bag), she picked up the unknown item and slowly removed the layered grime.

Once she had cleared away a patch of the filth, she saw a dull color of tarnished gold. There were lumps and indentations scratched into the surface of whatever it was, and she continued on with her cleaning, her curiosity returning.

When she had finished, she had in her hands and newly sullied cloth, a disk of stained metal, either brass or gold. It was something of a large coin, marked with pictures of smiling suns and moons, weird symbols and letters etched into its sides. Whatever it all meant, she wasn't sure, but it certainly was a pretty thing to have.

"I wonder if it's Quasimodo's," Lilo mused aloud, examining the coin with interest. "Maybe he lost it a long time ago and doesn't know where it is."

If it were hers, she thought, she would be very upset if she lost it. It _was_ a really pretty thing, whatever it was, and she probably would keep it in a box so it wouldn't get stolen or something like that.

"But, he probably forgot all about it, if it was his," she considered, a half-buried feeling of selfishness rising in her stomach. "Yeah, he probably did. I wonder if that means I can keep it?"

Lilo spent several minutes of deliberation to think this whole thing over, taking into account Quasimodo's reactions if he knew she had it, and his reactions if he didn't, and all sorts of things like that. In the end, Lilo decided that she would keep it, supposing that it Quasi wouldn't mind. And, in case he did, she made sure he didn't know she had it.

Though obviously considered by most the very _wrong _thing to do, Lilo had a very odd feeling that it would come in handy sometime. She wasn't usually so selfish, and she almost always did the right thing… when it came to stealing. But, nevertheless, she slipped the talisman into a corner of her bag and went to finish off her packing, abandoning Red to the musty loneliness of the shadows.

Experiment 626 leaned against the worn, wooden wheel spokes of his "master's" wagon, running an irritated claw through his ornamented hair. Before him, several feet away, Old Matthias stood conferring with another of his tribe, every once and a while sending a glance Stitch's way. The "rabbit" would just sigh, look away for a moment with an angry expression, but then slowly bring his gaze back to the aged gypsy. The day hadn't been one that was too enjoyable for the both of them (something that Matthias blamed on the "king"), and Stitch just wasn't feeling too cooperative.

Matthias had finally made the decision to train his "rabbit", as he had at first planned. He had tried to get Stitch to follow a whole amount of things, but Stitch, feeling the intermingled forces caused by the pressures of his coming deadline and his longing for Lilo, was too unresponsive toward the exercises to put an honest effort into what he was doing. Matthias, after ten minutes or so of attempting to get his new pet to do as he instructed, gave up and sought the assistance of another Gypsy, one more experienced in the way of training animals.

It was who he was talking to now, in fact. He seemed to be a disciplinarian, Stitch noted. He had a gaunt face, grave and unmoving as Matthias continued to explain his problems with the experiment. Stitch cast a stare in his direction, feeling an instant dislike of the man. He would prefer to deal with Matthias other than this scrawny stranger.

The gypsy turned his face to the blue creature after Matthias had gestured to him, looking Stitch over with a meticulous eye. The experiment, feeling angry and uncomfortable at the moment, bared his yellow teeth, hissing and growling, showing the sharpened blue nails that were set into his paws. The man started for a second, but then shook his head, said something to Matthias that seemed to upset the old gypsy, and moved away with a speed caused by an unknown impetus.

Matthias sighed, exasperated and exhausted, and turned back to enter his caravan, sending a disdainful look at the experiment as he passed. Stitch just rolled his eyes at this, then slumped back down onto the cobbles.

He felt a sort of futility in what he was doing. There was no way he could possibly find Lilo now, left with only one and one-quarter days to complete his task and no access to the outside world if he wasn't on the leash of an old man. He had to face the music. Unless he found a way to get Matthias to let him out, Lilo was gone forever, and Nani and the rest of the ohana would have to suffer.

He released a plaintive sigh. He couldn't imagine it, not at all. A life without Lilo, that little girl, his only real friend, would not be a life at all. Only an empty existence, paved with painful remembrances and guilty regrets. He would die without her, he knew he would. Nani would have to learn how to move on, haunted by the unknown circumstances of her sister's disappearance, forever wishing she had a chance to know what had happened, forever blaming herself for Lilo leaving. Jumba and Pleakley would be the same.

Now that he thought of it, the future and emotional welfare of his family were resting on his shoulders. He had to get Lilo back, or he would doom his ohana to the despondent future he had just moments before pondered over. He had to help.

Getting up from his spot, a new determination set in his heart, he made his way to the closed door of the caravan, and knocked violently. He would figure out a way to get out of this hole in the ground. Even if it meant letting go of his dignity.

**A/N:** Kay. Done! How is it? TELL ME! Well… if you know, I might've switched back and forth between writing styles during the writing (whoa… redundant), but still… More Frollo in about three chapters, Fallen Wraith! If you loved me, you would wait… smile Nevermind. Read and Review, alright?

**Fun fact #3**

**In the version with Quasimodo as a child, he was originally supposed to have a major crush on her! I'm not sure if I accidentally imbued some of this into this version of the Hawaiian and the Hunchback, but there was a sweet little sequence between the two of them when they were looking up at the stars. It was a lot of thinking, and Quasimodo was blushing half the time (while Lilo, being who she was, sat completely oblivious to the side, talking about the stars). My favorite part of the scene happens to be the corniest.**

"_**I love the stars, don't you?" Lilo asked the young man, staring up at the twinkling heavens above, a sweet little grin taking her face. **_

"_**I suppose," Quasimodo answered, unsure of what his response was to be. Lilo glanced at him curiously, her eyebrow lifted upward. **_

"_**You sound like you don't know," Lilo told him. "How could you be unsure?"**_

"_**How do you love the stars, Lilo?" Quasimodo asked, embarrassed. "I just don't understand…"**_

"_**How could I not?" Lilo asked incredulously. "Look at them! They're beautiful, they're bright, and they just make you want to smile sometimes… wouldn't you love them?"**_

"**_They're beautiful, bright, and they make you want to smile…" the hunchback echoed with a preoccupied voice, his eyes shifting from the stars above to the young girl beside him, a deep and caring shimmer glittering in their green depths. An unusual smile crept upon his face and his cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "I would love them," he said finally. " I would love them very much."_**

**If you don't understand what I was going at when I wrote that, don't worry. Neither did my sister. I guess I'm just not good at little cuddly scenes. But hey, I could write them if I tried harder! Probably…**


	16. Out there

A/N: Yes! I'm finally back, you peoples, and here's the sixteenth chapter. Cheer, or whatever, unless you want to flame me, then I suggest you just get it over with, and I'd like to ask you why the heck did you wait until the sixteenth chapter to tell me how much I suck? Okay, with that finished… READ! And REVIEW! Okay! PLEASE? And I must stress this… CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. IF YOU HAVE ANY, GIVE IT TO ME. AND PLEASE DON'T MAKE IT ABOUT MY SENTENCE FRAGMENTS. I GET THAT TOO MUCH FROM MY ENGLISH TEACHER.

Chapter 16

Out There

He couldn't let her go.

There they both stood, before one pair of the cathedral's arched doors, staring at the iron hinges that spread out across the aging timbers. They hadn't talked to one another since Lilo's awakening, barely exchanging looks, hardly even looking at one another as they made their way down. No words traded, no feelings expressed. Not that day. And yet, it all could be sensed, lingering about through the usually somber air. Quasimodo was undeniably anxious. He just couldn't let her go.

She was the first person, the first person _ever_, to look upon him and not shy away; the first person to ever regard him as something other than a monster that hid away in the concealing shadows of Notre Dame's bell tower. To her, he was a human being; she had even said so herself, and she had accepted him as someone that she could trust within minutes of their first meeting. If he let her out there…

"You're coming back, right, Lilo?" Quasimodo asked quietly, eyes still glued to the arched doors.

Lilo looked up at Quasimodo curiously from her spot beside him, cocking her head to the side in an inquiring manner.

"Of course I'll come back," she said after a moment, giving him a questioning look. "Why wouldn't I?"

Quasimodo was silent. He seemed to be thinking over an acceptable answer to the question at hand, his jaw moving side to side in a deliberating manner. His glance moved to fall on the little girl beside him and rested there for an awkward moment, but then returned to their original place. Lilo sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to reply.

"Is there something wrong, Quasimodo?" she asked, leaning over a bit in an attempt to see his face.

She sighed again. It was still there, that false and worrying smile. She sighed, shaking her head and quite forgetting her question, her brow furrowed as she turned to the floor. She stared at the black and white tile, still worried, still wondering. Why was Quasimodo acting so weird today?

He had woken her up early with a gentle shake, just a few minutes after dawn by her reckoning, and he had even then been wearing that smile. She had noticed it so easily, despite her groggy state, and had been immediately concerned. But, before she could inquire upon it, he had left her to herself and went to fetch her bag. After that it seemed too uncomfortable a position to be asking such questions. And now, he was wondering whether or not she would return to the bell tower, which was something she had already agreed, even promised, to do! She trusted him so easily; why was he having such problems with trusting her? There was something so upsetting about that!

"I promised I'd come back," she said suddenly, her voice dripping with irritation. "Why wouldn't I come back if I promised I would? It was a promise, Quasimodo! It was a promise!"

She shot him an inadvertently resentful glance, and then shifted the bag on her shoulder, her eyes returning to the floor. A silence followed, thick and awkward, both wondering the reasons and reactions of the other.

Finally Quasimodo spoke.

"You wouldn't understand," he said, his face turned downward.

"Nani says that all the time, and she's usually wrong," Lilo retorted, still frowning. Quasimodo sighed in exasperation, bringing a tired hand to his face.

"Lilo…"

"I mean it! Why are you acting so weird?" Lilo turned her face up to him, this time demanding an answer to the question just asked.

Quasimodo once again remained silent.

"Quasimodo!" Lilo exclaimed, her voice strained with frustration. "Why?"

"Because…" he started and stopped, letting the unfinished sentence hang in the air.

"Quasi!" Lilo repeated, her voice strained.

"Because you might not come back!" he blurted out, his voice tired and frustrated. Lilo blinked quietly, unsure of his meaning. "If you leave," Quasimodo began again, his voice slow and shaking, "You might…" He swallowed a saddened stutter. "If you don't come back I might…"

He stopped short, turning away. Lilo saw his hump quiver from suppressed sobs, and the guilt slowly began to seep into her mind, her conscience yet again nagging in disappointment and shaking a strict finger.

"Why wouldn't I come back?" she asked her tone more gentle than it was just seconds before.

Quasimodo spoke without turning back.

"Why _would _you come back?" he questioned her, his voice seeming somewhat spiteful. "You're going to be _out there_. How does my bell tower stand up against that?"

Lilo blinked in surprise, and her eyes fell to the alternating tile of the floor. Oh, she thought, feeling both hurt and hurtful. Now she understood. Why couldn't she see it earlier?

Through out the few years of his life, Quasimodo had dreamt of being "out there" as he put it, where people that would be called normal without a hesitant thought (well… most of them), and who went through their lives surrounded by others of their kind. He had never felt the warmth of the writhing masses passing him, never heard the murmur of their talk excepting the somber prayers that they whispered, kneeling before the altar. He had only watched, examined, imagined. And now, Lilo, who had remained with him for almost three days, experiencing the loneliness and alienation that he had been forced to feel his whole life, was going to live that unforgotten dream. The event, ever it happened to him, would be the experience of a lifetime, and he would treasure it forever. But, she was a little girl, Lilo supposed he thought. He would be happy enough for one day, but what if she wouldn't be able to control herself?

"I'm sorry," Lilo said, breaking from her thought and scratching the back of her head ashamedly. "I didn't mean to."

This was all Lilo could think to say. I mean, what could she tell him that would comfort him? She had already promised beforehand (and repeated this promise several times over) that she would return, and even then, Quasimodo was not as trustful as she would've liked him to be. She sighed, scratching her head. What could she do to guarantee the keeping of her promise…?

Suddenly, Lilo got an idea, and quickly began to undo her bag.

Quasimodo remained to the side, doing his best to stop the tears that had not yet fallen but continued to well up in his eyes. He felt loneliness already, even before little Lilo had left. He hated that feeling. He hated it with his being, but felt it and would perhaps feel it for the rest of his life. There was something depressing about that thought.

After a moment or so, Quasimodo felt something being continually pressed against his shoulder. Taking a confused turn, he saw Lilo, smiling up at him, extending Scrump forward as if beckoning him to take her.

"What?" Quasimodo asked, bewildered, his eyes shifting back and forth between Lilo and her green doll, wondering what it was he was supposed to do.

"Take her," Lilo replied, holding Scrump closer to Quasimodo's face. The hunchback's brow furrowed; he was obviously confused.

"Why?" he asked, extending a hesitant hand to take the doll. "I don't understand…"

"She's my collateral!" Lilo told him, proud that she knew the word. "I promised I would come back, right?"

"Right," Quasimodo agreed, nodding.

"And you're afraid I might not, right?" Lilo said, attempting a teasing tone.

"Right," echoed the hunchback, feeling a bit disheartened.

"So, if I don't keep my promise and never come back," Lilo continued, noticing Quasimodo's obviously saddened expression at the mentioned situation, "you get to keep her. Oh, and here!" Lilo dug into her bag again and brought out the thin, ragged piece that was Scrump's arm. "You get her arm, too."

"Lilo…" Quasimodo said, wondering whether to take this all seriously. Collateral? Where was this girl getting all this stuff?

"I mean it, Quasi," she said. "I saw some people talking about it once. And anyway, you know I would never leave Scrump behind. So there's my promise." And, as if to seal the deal, she crossed her arms and let out a satisfied grunt.

Quasimodo was silent for a second, his sight shifting back and forth from Scrump to the little girl, absolutely bewildered. Collateral… he wasn't entirely sure what that word meant, having never heard it before, but Lilo sounded so serious about it! There was a long moment of deliberation, in which the two of them maintained a long stare, awaiting an answer. Finally, Quasimodo released a sigh, gave her a little smile, and accepted her promise.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a long embrace, and then heading to the doors.

Quasimodo watched her as she opened the door, marveling at the light that streamed in through the widening crack, his eyes following her as she paused for a moment, then made her way out into the streets of Paris. His heart was beating fast, a final bit of anxiety lingering still as he watched her look back at him in a silent and final goodbye and closing the wooden door. He looked down at Scrump and her detached arm and released a soft sigh. He hoped with all his heart that she would come back.

* * *

"Wow," Lilo muttered quietly, scanning over the unfamiliar area that she had just stepped into. It was a dirty place, much unlike her island of Kauai, the air smoke-filled and pungent with a near indiscernible array of things. She stepped into the light, down unto the bumpy stones that paved the large square, wandering uneasily, not yet sure of her destination.

She stared up at the teetering buildings that lined the square, at their half-timbers and worn facades, their shuttered windows and angled roofs. They were silhouetted in early morning's faint sky, where winter's clouds glided across its pale surface. The houses looked near ready to fall, not sturdy like they were where she lived.

She had never expected Quasimodo's world to be so strange. Of course, his world was Earth, which meant his world was the same as hers, if one wanted to be technical. But, it was different, ancient, unclean. Hawaii seemed sterile compared to Paris. But then again, she had always heard that the French were weird. Now, she was pretty sure that this was right, from what she could tell. Which probably meant that she was weird to them, thus explaining the withering stares that those people had given her during her first wanderings about the church.

Lilo was drawn from her musings at the sounds of a horse's hooves as he made his way into the square, clip-clopping over the cobbles. She turned for a moment, curious, and saw, with a shock of cold fear, what seemed a metal carriage, a box of rivets and iron, as it went to stop before the towering edifice of Notre Dame. She had never before seen the carriage, at least, there wasn't a time when it had before taken her attention, but it sent her such a strange feeling, a cold uncertainty, that made her want to run away as quickly as she possibly could.

So, she did. She turned about, rushing to the long shadows cast by the houses. She was shivering, cold in the shade, leaning against a house's corner as she watched the door while it was opened by one of a pair of guards that had been following. And, as expected, out stepped that tall and angular man, his black hat topping his head, one wrinkled hand clutching the handle of a wicker basket.

"Frollo," she whispered, a feeling of mixed fear and contempt flooding into her thoughts. That man, that horrible man…

Frollo seemed for a moment to be absorbing the thoughts and intentions of those that surrounded him, weighing their worth, their importance to him, in that heavily clouded mind. There was no other cause that one could think of that would make him stand their so stiffly after stepping out. Both guards flanked him, tapping the butts of their long-shafted spears against the square's stones, patiently waiting for their judge to begin. Then, as if compelled by the single bitter thought that Lilo projected, his head made a slow turn toward the cold shadows, his wide piercing eyes resting heavily on the hidden girl. She cringed for a second, frightened. Did he see her?

The stare lasted for several, crawling seconds, then the judge, smirking, turned, doffed his hat, and climbed the steps to Notre Dame's doors, gesturing the guards to follow. They were probably going to search Quasimodo's tower, Lilo reckoned, rubbing her shoulder. Shaking off the feeling of doubt as much as she could, she sent a horrible look at the closing portal, and released a loud raspberry.

"Horribly, ugly old gnome!" she exclaimed once the door was completely shut. "I hope you get bit by a rat while looking for me! An ugly, rabid old rat!"

She stomped out of the shadows indignantly and made her way to the far side of the square, angry, but undeniably shaken.

* * *

"Are you ready, dear boy?" Frollo asked, looking down the end of his hooked nose at the hunchback, who sat, face blank, at his table near the window. The two soldiers that he had ordered in with him stood at the wayside, frowning in their uniform manner, their spears gone, by order of the archdeacon.

Quasimodo gave a half-hearted nod, his gaze directed at the ancient floorboards. Frollo sent him a disdainful glare, then motioned for the soldiers to begin. The two jerked their heads in reply and made their way into the shadows, searching.

"I warn you, boy," Frollo continued, watching as one soldier peeked about some beams, "if either of my men find any sign of that gypsy both of you will have to suffer the consequences."

"I understand, master," Quasimodo answered, his reply mechanical and uncaring. Frollo frowned. The boy seemed almost unaffected by the whole search, as if there was absolutely nothing that attached him to it . The judge watched as both soldiers spent their time poking through small holes, carefully lifting away sheets and bending down to look beneath benches and tables. He shook his head. The whole idea of this exercise was to put fear into the hunchback's mind, to show him that he would not, should not, do it ever again. The pair's "dainty-ing" around everything would not be effective.

Frollo looked around the room, drumming his fingers together in thought. The first strike needed to be something important to the boy, something that meant more to him than anything else in the room. His eyes scanned over the village that Quasimodo had crafted from youth to the present. A likely candidate, he mulled in his head, but perhaps not at the moment. The prop might serve a better use in a later escapade, if ever he should show anymore signs of insubordination.

Frollo's search lasted for only a moment afterward, when a sparkle of colored light shone for a moment into his eye. What it was, he hadn't the slightest in the beginning, until he turned, and saw Quasimodo up from his perch on the stool, reaching for a lantern that he hadn't yet turned off. It was set on one of the wooden uprights that framed the window, and it shone brightly still, its light falling upon shards of broken glass that now hung from the ceiling. Frollo started for a moment, curious to what the fixture was. He had never before noticed it, and was surprised to how his attention hadn't been fixed on it before.

"What is that?" Frollo asked after a moment, sending one violet piece into a swinging arc with a single touch.

Quasimodo turned, seeing his master playing with his project.

"It's a glass mobile, sir," he answered, his voice slow, as if wondering what the man's intentions were.

"Is it new?" he asked. "I've never seen it before. You must've made it yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yes, master," Quasimodo answered. "I did."

"All by yourself? That must have been quite a lot of work, Quasimodo," Frollo said.

Quasimodo started for a second, but then strove to regain his bearings.

"Yes… m-master, I did."

Frollo let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh, and smirked at Quasimodo in a cold, knowing way. The teenager gulped uneasily, raking a large hand through his stiff red hair.

"Guards," Frollo said, snapping his fingers and gesturing them to the spot. Both made their way forth from their search, and Frollo's face became sadistic. He pointed to the largest fixture, to the left of the one hanging down from the village. "Destroy it."

* * *

Lilo was now wandering along the streets of Paris, long bored of remaining in the square before Notre Dame. She had promised to come back, before too much time had passed, sure that she would be able to navigate through the many streets that veined through the city. She wanted to learn more, to rove along absorbing the things around her. If she had her camera, she would take a picture or two, but, as if in stupidity, she had forgotten it somewhere.

The sun was making its way up further into the sky when Lilo began to pass through what seemed to be a market square, where stalls and stores made up most of what she walked by. There were baker men and fishermen, tailors and cobblers, a whole plethora of familiar ideas changed. She lingered here for a long moment, then made her way to the edge of the plaza, lingering in the shade of one canopy set near a cart of fruits and vegetables. She got a strange and untrusting look from the vendor, a large man with greasy brown hair, who seemed to expect her to steal something. But, after she had remained without mischief, brushing a hand through her hair and resting, he seemed to allow her an uneasy trust, and continued to sell his wares.

From one street, a young woman came, brown-haired, garbed in a dress that was colored blue, a color that seemed highly unusual in this place. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, her face hidden in the pages of a thick book. Lilo watched her curiously, cocking her head to the side. The lady seemed an anachronism to this era. No woman that she had seen so far in Paris looked as if they knew how to read.

The woman pulled the book away from her face, closing it neatly and placing it in a basket that she had hanging from one elbow. Her face was smooth, lovely, with two large brown eyes and two red lips. She leaned over the vendor's cart, examining the merchandise, then eventually, pointed to two apples, which the man handed her graciously. She thanked him, handed him some currency then placed the fruit in her basket, both having little space, considering the literature. The man said a simple "your welcome" then turned for a moment and entered a building behind him, for reasons unknown.

The young woman went back the way she came, as if the apples were her only reason for going down that direction, pulling the large book from the basket on her elbow. But, in doing this, an apple tumbled down from her basket, ending up on the cobbles. Lilo, who had gotten back to herself for a moment to examine the trinket that she had discovered in Quasimodo's tower, noticed the apple on the ground near the cart and saw the lady walking away. She watched for a moment, wondering if the woman had noticed, but then got up from her spot and picked up the fruit.

Lilo looked at it for a moment, realizing how hungry she was. She hadn't quite eaten anything that day. Quasimodo had provided her with some food when she was with him, but she hadn't the time to eat breakfast yet. She looked at it with a hungered look for a moment, shook her head because stealing was bad (completely ignoring the fact that the medallion that she had in her other fist was stolen in the first place), and wiped the apple against her shirt to shine it.

"Hey, lady, you-"

Before Lilo had a chance to run forth, or even to finish her sentence, she felt a sudden crash against the base of her skull, and she fell forward, unconscious even before she hit the ground.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, it took a long time. But I did it, right? Hey, it's here, right THERE! Okay, okay. Read and Review. HEY! I'll mention you in my story if you tell me who the lady in blue was! Give you a clue: She was in HoND, just not important. I know my writing wasn't that good this time around, but I just got back into writing, okay? Give me some slack. Read and Review, mes amis!

Fun fact #4… is it number four?

In the original plot of The Hawaiian and the Hunchback, Frollo wasn't even considered. Yeah, yeah, it was a horrible thing that I didn't include him, because there wouldn't be an antagonist. But then again, it was when Quasimodo was younger, and the main point of that was him learning first love. Which I changed because I realized how _stupid _that was. And I wasn't going to go back to the main house to see what was going on… which reminds me… next chapter, I have to put in something about whatever Nani's doing. I like writing for Jumba. It's just fun, for one reason or another. Oh well. Next time!


	17. Bartholomew

**Author's Note: HEY HO! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY… Well, it's close enough, I suppose. If I didn't get this on my anniversary, it's probably on the day before or the day after… But if it is the twenty-fifth, YAY! This is the first anniversary of the publishing of the first chapter of my first fanfic on the net EVER! Which is… Dun dun dun dun! Hawaiian and the Hunchback. Sad, huh? Been a year and I'm still not done. I've got quite a few chapters to write still, and I hope you stay here with me to read them all. HEY! You know what? I'm not good at this. The writing in this chapter is… weird. BUT HEY! Clopin's in it, and that makes me happy! And Congrats to SERENGETI DAWN AND CATHY for figuring out who the mysterious woman is in this story. If you find yourself in the story (or at least the characters who took your name (I don't know either of your real names so I had to make renditions of your screen names), which is not at all a hard thing to do, I'll give you a cookie. **

**Chapter 17**

There was a great explosion of applause and laughter, most drawn from the young children that stood in the amassing crowd that circled about the old gypsy and his pet. There were gentle murmurs of approval, others of disbelief, and still more of wonderment. What was happening, one may ask, to arouse such an interest?

If one stood at the very back of the crowd, which was not too far but not too close, all that one would see would be a crude chair, a stool, a rather large and colorful ball, and a very surly cat… all balanced on top of one another in that exact order. And who stood beneath this great pyramid of assorted household items? None other than a curious blue dog, balancing on its stunted hind legs, its squashed nose in the air, the gold-plated trinkets woven into his oddly colored fur hanging behind him and clinking together with bell-like metal peals.

It was a wonder what gave him the ability to execute such a phenomenal deed, considering both the stunning equilibrium and the amazing strength. Some might say it was born into the animal, weird breed that it was. Others would say that the credit went to the trainer, supposedly the old vagabond that publicized the creature. But most would say witchcraft, not unusual considering the times. Of course, it might as well be any of those things; people (well, most of them) didn't quite care, just as long as they were being amused. On a day that there wasn't a hanging or a torturing, medieval Parisians needed to find entertainment anyway that they possibly could.

Stitch, which all of you people know to be that very "dog", grumbled in discomfort and frustration. He had submitted himself to Matthias's training regiment, the whole course gone by quickly due to Stitch's eagerness, and just a little bit of his alien strength and ability. He figured that that was the only way for him to get outside and find Lilo, other than destroying the whole court in his quest to get outside and breaking into every house in Paris searching for her. And anyway, odd shows always attracted Lilo, if ever she found them, so this might help him as well. But, he thought in anger, this was becoming very irritating. Children had a tendency to yell out rude things at him, or demand more things to be forced up there on his nose. Well, kids, here's the thing! He wasn't going to do it! It wasn't that he couldn't lift it all if he wanted to, but more on the fact that, well, there was a cat up there! If he threw another thing up there chances were the poor thing would be crushed and Matthias wouldn't be very happy, because he borrowed that cat. He wanted to _make _money, not lose some.

After several more minutes, and a grand finale of throwing all the objects up in the air and juggling them for several seconds and putting them all in a line, perfectly unmarred, in their order, Stitch finally sat down on the corner for a rest. He watched as the crowd dispersed, many people first coming up to Matthias and placing a coin or two into his strange cap. Stitch sighed and shook his head. Lilo was not among them.

"It's such a strange animal," said a young voice to the side. "What is it, mama?"

"Do not question the gypsies, Dawn," the mother answered. Stitch lifted his head and saw a young girl being pulled away by an older woman. Stitch felt himself missing Lilo even more. Dawn, Stitch noticed, was about Lilo's age, if not a little older, and had the same glint of hidden intelligence in her eyes.

"Why not, mama?" she asked, looking from her mother to Stitch. "Look, mama, he's looking at me!"

The mother turned and noticed Stitch's curious stare, and with a frightened start, she turned round and hid her daughter behind her back.

"You monster!" she exclaimed, holding a rosary before her as if to ward away any evil that his glance might portend. "Stay away from my daughter!"

And, with that, she rushed away, her daughter in tow, Dawn looking back at Stitch with a quiet and apologetic wave. Stitch let out a frustrated growl and slashed a long and angry mark down the wooden side of the building he sat against. People here were so uptight, so much more frightened than they were in Kauai. Of course, the fear was fundamental; it seemed that anywhere one would go the estrangement of the "normal" from the "oddity" was obvious. There were people that accepted others the way that they were, whether it be Lilo or that little girl Dawn, who seemed she would've easily recognized Stitch as nothing to be feared (which wasn't exactly the truth, but it was a very nice thing to think).

He shook his head. He wasn't sure how much more of this stupidity he would be able to take. In Hawaii, Lilo was there for him, but now, in Paris, he was with only Matthias, who acknowledged him only as an ugly rabbit who would make him a lot of money. Of course, there was that king of his, that Clopin Trouillefou that Matthias felt such disparagement toward. But he was undeniably annoying. Nice, interesting, skilled vastly in his artifice…. But annoying.

"Come, rabbit," Matthias said, tugging on the rope leash that hung from Stitch's neck. "Time to move."

Stitch growled again, but followed after the old gypsy. He had to find Lilo.

* * *

"Is she still crying?"

"Well, yes, wouldn't you still be crying if _your _sister disappeared with no explanation and you didn't know where she was?"

"I wouldn't know," Jumba answered, crossing his legs and straightening out his newspaper. "Only child, you know."

Pleakley rolled his single eye and straightened out his shirt. This was becoming a very uncomfortable situation. Nani had been crying up in her room ever since the police escapade, and more guilt began piling up in Pleakley's head. They knew what had happened to Lilo, they knew what was being done in order to try and get her back, they knew what chances that they had to find her… but Nani didn't. She was the only one in the house in the dark, but she was also the most affected by the happenings. It seemed almost cruel to keep the secret from her, all for the sake of evading trouble.

"Do you think we should tell her, Jumba?" Pleakley asked, fingering the hem of his shirt.

"Tell who what?" Jumba asked, peeking over the edge of his newspaper with four curious eyes.

"Nani, should we tell Nani what's going on?"

"And get my scientificking stopped altogether?" Jumba asked incredulously. He shook his large head and returned to his paper. "Huh, ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."

"You are nothing but an insensitive fluff trog, do you know that?" Pleakley exclaimed angrily, getting to his three feet.

"Just a little," Jumba answered, not even glancing upward this time.

"She has a right to know!"

"Know what?"

Pleakley and Jumba jumped at the voice, and turned to see Nani making her way down the set of stairs. Her nose was red, her eyes were bloodshot and tired, her hair a disarrayed mess. She was clutching a single tissue in her hand, which she continually raised to dab at her eyes.

"Know what? What do I have a right to know?" she repeated when no answer came. Her voice was crackled and thick from her earlier weeping.

"Who says that you have a right to know anything? I didn't say your name!"

"You said 'she'," Nani replied, a hint of anger in her voice. "And unless I'm mistaken or someone in here is gender-confused, I am the only woman in this house."

"Oh, no, no! I was talking about… about Jumba's ex-wife, yes, weren't we, Jumba, talking about your ex-wife?"

"Why would I want to talk about that elephant?" Jumba asked. Pleakley slapped him sharply on the shoulder. "Which is… what we were talking about! Yes, yes, I hate her, very very much, mmm hmm. That is why I am not wanting to talk about her."

Nani was quiet for a while, as if trying to understand, but she ended up shaking her head and swatting away the thought.

"I'm not even going to try to understand you to right now," she said, holding her temples as if she had a headache. "Just tell me, where's Stitch?"

Jumba and Pleakley exchanged an anxious glance.

"Um, he's not here right now, maybe we can take a message?"

"I just… nevermind. Just tell me when he comes back, okay? I really need to talk to him," she sighed, then turned and made her way back upstairs. Jumba and Pleakley sighed quietly.

"Poor girl," Pleakley muttered, shaking his head. "I'm starting to wonder how long we can keep this up. And if Stitch doesn't come home with Lilo… then what?"

"There's only two ways to find out, my little one-eyed friend," Jumba said, putting down the paper and scratching the back of his large head. "Either one of us makes a what-if machine, or it actually happens. So, let's hope that one of us has enough brains in their big, four-eyed, purple head to invent that totally unnecessary device."

* * *

Clopin waltzed down the long boulevard, singing a tune of his own invention, laughing every other moment, and flipping halfway down the road. It was just about time he made his way to the court for lunch and he had just had a very successful morning at the old puppet theatre. The children were obviously becoming more and more accustomed to seeing his masked face smiling at the corner, which meant that either they avoided him or they came right on up to listen to his stories. Whether or not the former held more bodies than the latter was unknown, but God knew that there were enough children (with money) watching him to ensure the gypsies have a good meal for once.

Breaking out into random song as he gallivanted down the street, he twirled about on the old cobbles, waltzing with some invisible being. He had just reached the intersection between his current road and the one leading out of the market square when he heard a quiet murmur of a whispering crowd. He stopped for a second, looking at an accumulated throng that circled about an unseen subject, and stroked his chin in wonder. Finally, he made his way up to the outer circle of the crowd and tried to peer above the high shoulders of those that formed the mass.

Damn it all, Clopin thought in annoyance. Why is it that the freakishly tall people forever stand in the back of these groups?

He would've liked to push the two large men before him away and get into the crowd, but now was not the time to be rude. They had been there first, after all.

"Bartholomew, I think you've gone too far this time!"

Clopin, lifted himself on his toes to see who had spoken, spotting a young woman with long brown hair. Bartholomew… he thought, raking his mind for information on that name. Ah, that big brute with the celery. What did he do this time?

"What do you care, Belle?" A rough voice retorted, obviously angered.

"She's only a child!"

"She's a gypsy and she was trying to steal one of my apples!"

"One of my apples, you mean," the girl replied, her clear voice edged with resentment. "You had no right to do that to her…"

"Gypsy?" Clopin repeated, surprised at the news. The two tall men who stood before him twisted their necks momentarily to take a glance at him, rolled their eyes, seeing that he was a gypsy himself, and returning to the sight before them. Clopin shook his head, and continued to listen through the thick of the crowd.

"Mama says that gypsies are bad," a little girl said, her face hidden from the Gypsy King's view.

Belle gave out a quiet sigh.

"They aren't bad, Catherine," she told the young girl. "They're just different. Your cat and your dog are different, but that doesn't make them bad."

"I guess not… but why don't they go to heaven then?"

"That's ridiculous."

Clopin couldn't help but smile and look at the French woman with admiration. There were few in this society who would recognize that being different meant little, and even fewer who would admit to feeling that way. He stroked his goatee for a second in thought before turning back to the situation.

"Don't you go filling that child's head with your crazy ideas!" Bartholomew exclaimed with ire. "This child of damnation was attempting to steal, whether it be from me or from you, Belle!"

There was a quiet murmur of agreement, others of disagreement, and some of fear. Clopin furrowed his brow in confusion, feeling from this group a wave of discomfort. There was something happening now, something that he couldn't see beyond the shoulders of these disgruntling men. During his years in the entertainment business, Clopin had learned how to read crowds and this one was evidently unsure… What was it?

"No, don't!" screamed out the voice of the child named Catherine. "That's not right, Uncle Bartholomew, that's not right!"

Clopin, vehement on saving anyone that might be of his troupe, finally decided that now was the time to be rude. He pushed past the two men before him and forced his way to the inner circles of the crowd, ignoring the angry grunts of those he moved to the side. He pushed his way to the closes ring, and saw one Monsieur Bartholomew L'etoile, the one vendor that most gypsies in Paris would not be audacious enough to cross. His face was distorted in anger as he argued with those who demanded he stop, his hand gripped about the long wooden shaft of a pitchfork whose points aimed downward, threatening the likes of whoever lay beneath it.

Clopin ran his eyes down the splintering rod to where it pointed at the ground and found himself instantly full of pity.

There, lying on her belly upon the cobbles of the street, was a little girl. She was garbed in a patterned red dress, an odd bag lying beside her, its strap still barely on her shoulder. Her skin was dark, her hair was black and shiny, now stained with a dark red with the blood that slowly trickled from an open wound on the back of her head. She certainly resembled a gypsy, but that was all that Clopin could say. Her facial structure was different, her nose was too snub. One of her hands was stretched out before her, where inches away a dusty apple lay. Her other was bent at her side, clutched tightly into a fist.

Clopin squinted his eyes in curiosity. There was something in that hand… something that he could barely see. What was it? He saw the rim of it, peeking from the space between her thumb and her index, a spot of tarnished gold…

"I don't care! No gypsy steals around Bartholemew!"

Clopin's eyes darted upward, and he saw him, the large and ugly vendor, lifting the pitchfork upward, getting ready to plummet it downward into the body of the young girl. The gypsy king could not take anymore of this. Gypsy or not, the killing of so precious a girl was heartless, inhuman!

"STOP!" cried the gypsy king, extending one imposing hand forth. His face, hidden behind his magenta mask, was still obviously upset, his mouth frowning, his piercing eyes staring deeply at the fruit vendor, who had just then stilled his hand. Had Clopin not stepped forth, the little girl would've been almost certainly dead.

Bartholomew was stunned. Here, right when he was at his most daunting, a man stepped in from the crowd, garbed in the clothing of a jester, demanding the stop what he believed the right thing to do! He could've easily felt anger, but before that, Bartholomew felt curiosity. What was this gypsy going to do?

Clopin knelt down beside the little girl, running a gloved hand over the base of her head, where a small wound was evident. Whatever he had used to hit her had cut badly into the skin against her skull, and she was in fact bleeding. Not to death, no, that would take much longer, but it was something that one would not want to leave alone. He flipped her onto her back, supporting her head with his arm, and looked at her quietly, his expression still unmoving, and he brushed away the hair that lingered at her face. He outlined her round face with his free hand and for a while continued to peruse her expression, that mixture of surprise and despair that she had managed just before she had fallen into shadow.

Finally, his hand went to her fist, where the unknown object rested, clutched tightly as if in security. He gently opened the tight fingers and pulled from her hand what to the crowd seemed nothing more than a discolored gold trinket, of little importance or use. But, Clopin's reaction proved that it was not that. It was a gypsy talisman, marked with the initials of a certain family that had long ago been traveling but had disappeared with little markings of their existence. Apparently, this child, who lay silent in his arms, bleeding from a wound inflicted by a racist man, was in fact Romany. How else was it possible that she laid claim to such a medallion?

This new bit of information raised Clopin's anger, before then just a simmering of disappointment in the man's heinous plans and actions, up to an indignant ire. He glanced up at Bartholomew with a stare that would frighten away a tiger, a long and bitter look that sent the large man into uncertainty. He then moved his other arm to the young girl's knees, supported her small body with his hands, and lifted her off the ground.

"Hey!" Bartholomew exclaimed, putting an angry hand on the gypsy's arm. "Where do you think you're going? She's mine! After what she did…"

Clopin need only look at him to shut him up.

The crowd parted as Clopin made his way out, his fingers still gripped about that trinket, and he followed their path without a word or glance. He stopped for a moment before Belle, that pretty woman that had defended the girl and perhaps saved her life.

"Thank you," he whispered to her, bowing slightly. Belle accepted the thanks and returned the bow with a curtsy and a "welcome", and Clopin went his own way.

* * *

"Hey, King, look at all the money that the rabbit… Oh dear lord, what is that?"

Matthias stared at the body that the Gypsy king held in his arms, a look of concern and wonder on his tight-skinned face.

"The victim of an idiot's attack," Clopin answered grimly. He looked back down at the girl, clicking his tongue quietly. "Poor girl, she's got quite the scrape on the back of her head. Where's your dog?"

"My _rabbit_," Matthias answered, putting a harsh emphasis on 'rabbit', "is coming along fine. He's doing well… But about this girl… is she…?"

"She'll be fine, with a little rest, maybe a few bandages…"

"No, no, that's not what I mean. Is she a…"

"A gypsy? She seems it in some respects, in others she doesn't but the evidence points to yes, or at least a probably. But whether she is gypsy or not, we have to get her back to the court. She needs help."

"Ah, yes, yes, of course," Matthias said, nodding. He tugged hard on the rope leash that he held, which rounded about a corner, behind the edge of a stone wall that fenced about an old house. "Come rabbit, come one. We've got to get back to the court."

Clopin nodded and glanced up at the heavens.

"And we'd better do it soon. It looks as if it's about to rain."

**A/N: And that's the end. You might be thinking: Oh, her two updates weren't that far away, she must be updating sooner! But no. The next chapter is going to take forever to come up! evil laughter ensues Read and Review, my friends. Yeah, yeah, I made Clopin kind of a savior in this bit, but I needed to do something. I also made Nani kind of cranky… I tried to make her sad, but it came out wrong. Well… Next chapter is in the court, the reuniting of Lilo and Stitch! READ AND REVIEW, AND COME BACK NEXT TIME!**

**note to Serengeti Dawn and Cathy: cookie not real. Do not eat cookie. I repeat, DO NOT EAT THE COOKIE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHOMEVER HE MAY BE TO YOU, DO NOT EAT THE COOKIE!**

**Fun fact #5 (if anyone reads this, tell me. I might just be writing this for my own viewing)**

**In the original draft, Clopin was supposed to have found Lilo as she was wandering away from Notre Dame. She was singing "Aloha Oe" and nobody understood the words that she was saying. Clopin noticed that she was lonely and decided that she looked like a gypsy and took her back to the court. But I realized that, first off, she's got a translator in her mouth. So, if she said anything in Hawaiian, it would come out in Old French. Second off, I thought Clopin and the gypsies could tell better than others what gypsies actually looked like. Hawaiian and gypsies don't look exactly like each other, so in this draft, I put how he only thought she was gypsy because of the talisman. OH YEAH… In the original draft, the talisman didn't even exist. But, I put more meaning into it. You'll see. BYE!**


	18. Welcome to the court!

**Author's Note: Wow… it's been like, what, two months? Hey, I'm back! I hope y'all ain't mad at me. I wrote it, didn't I? I only took a long time because of the song… that darned song! Anyway, here it is, chapter 18, and Lilo and Stitch get reunited! Finally, eh? Okay… the reason I haven't been writing is because my art and my writing can never _really_ coexist. As in, when I draw my best, I don't write too well, if I write my best, I don't draw too well… If you notice, the writing in this story isn't that good. Here's why: I'm thinking of making a graphic novel based on this story. Not with the same characters, and some parts are changed a little bit, but the plot is somewhat the same. Of course the girl flung into the different dimension is fourteen years old and blames herself for her parents' death… but it _started out_ based on this story… So, what do you think? Should I do it? Well… until I actually draw out the whole thing and stop doing Lilo in a pirate's clothing, read my story. Okay? Oh, by the way, the reason I didn't translate Clopin's name into English is because it would be too strange for Lilo to go around saying: "Okay Mr. Limping Cowardly fool." Or him saying: "Hello, Mr. Limping Cowardly fool, at your service". So, sorry all who noticed that. READ AND REVIEW!**

**Chapter 18**

Orange. Never before had Lilo seen so much orange.

Just a moment prior, she had woken up from a sleep that seemed to her to have lasted only a moment. Her eyes had opened slowly, heavy with grogginess, and what had been the first thing to greet her sight? Nothing more than a great expanse of orange, sloping downward from a blurred pole, and continuing well beyond the edge of her vision. It annoyed her for a bit when she had just come to, because, even though Lilo claimed to have loved every color possible, the bright orange wasn't too high on her favorites list.

Lilo turned her head for a moment, looking to the side where shadows lingered in the corners. Wherever she was, it wasn't very bright; the light was dim and only an unseen lantern illuminated a small portion of the chamber, flickering uneasily to the side. She could hear sounds, coming from outside, muffled by the draping orange that enclosed her. Some sounded something like voices, others like strains of music from an unfinished song, and some like animals. But whatever they were, Lilo couldn't see them, and didn't consider them anything that she should bother herself with just yet.

She attempted to lift herself up from the cushions that she had been set upon, groaning for the strange weariness in her joints. But, once she had propped herself up, she found herself falling back down, tears of pain and nausea pouring down her cheeks. Her head hurt like _heck_. A dull and throbbing pain, it felt as if she had some sort of migraine, not a nuisance that was too common with her. As we can all suppose, she didn't like it too much. She brought her hands to touch the back of her head, where she felt the rhythmic throbbing of her heart, and found her fingers running over the rough, loosely woven fabric of bandages. Apparently, as she had slept, someone had found reason to dress her head in them.

"What happened?" She finally found herself asking, laying herself back in as comfortable a position she could get. The unexplainable pain and the bandages were beginning to make her wonder.

Now that she thought of it, it was a little difficult to remember. She felt that she _should_ know, and yet she wasn't recalling anything useful. Not much before her wakening could she remember; the things she did were too far back to allow her some explanation.

"Come on, Lilo," she muttered to herself, closing her eyes for a moment, hoping it would bring her easier remembrance, "think! What happened?"

Lilo reached as far as she could into her mind, pushing past useless bits, bringing forth things that seemed to hold some significance and putting them to the side for later examination. After shuffling through the unorganized thoughts and memories that filled her mind and finding little, she once again inspected those that she had saved. But even amongst those images, there seemed nothing that could generate any recollection, nothing important, nothing that would help; it all seemed fruitless … that was, until a certain shiny-skinned red fruit slowly glided into thought.

The apple… it had fallen from the basket because of the book… the book… it had knocked out the apple because the lady had taken it out… she'd taken it out so she could read it…

She remembered trying to return the apple. She remembered the young lady with the brown hair slowly walking away, still reading her book as if nothing happened. But everything after that was a blur… it was as if there was a big piece missing from her life during that time… of course, chances were she was knocked out like she thought, but since she didn't _quite_ remember being conked on the head, she was storing that possibility for later.

What had happened? She remembered, just looking forward; she remembered walking after her, she remembered feeling hungry. She tried to call to her but… but… but what? What _happened_?

"Oh, who cares anymore?" Lilo exclaimed, near tears. "I wake up in a weird place for the second time in a week and the fourth time in my life, I have a big pain in my head, and I don't remember _anything_! Why don't the cannibals who probably kidnapped me just cut me up and cook me now because I don't care anymore!"

Lilo found herself crying again. There was too much, _too much_ happening to her now. More than ever, even more than when poor Quasimodo had told her to go home, did she actually want to be with Nani, Stitch, Jumba, even Pleakley, she'd admit. She loved adventures, she really did! But being lost, and lonely, and not knowing what was going on… it was overwhelming, and it pained her heart heavily to have to go through it everyday in this damned place.

"Lost," Lilo muttered quietly, wiping away a tear as it made a path down her cheek. "I'm lost."

Lilo finally gave up and turned her head, nuzzling her face wearily into a strange blue cushion lying at her side. It was made of an odd fabric, almost fur-like, and its scent was inexplicably familiar… for some reason, she found herself calmed down by it. Sighing, she closed her eyes and did her best to relax herself; any more stress and her head would be hurting worse than before.

"Hey," a voice piped up, sounding half-annoyed, half-amused. It was louder than those other stifled tones that she had barely noted from without, and the little Hawaiian found herself twitching in a soundless surprise. Lilo opened her eyes, lifting up her head to look around at the room about her. She spotted no one.

"What the…?" Lilo asked aloud, obviously bewildered at the invisible perpetrator. She continued her search a second time, this time lifting herself up higher as if in hopes of seeing any enemy that might be concealing themselves closer to the floor. But no, nobody could be seen, and Lilo found herself getting a little frustrated with whoever had bothered her attempted relaxation. "Hello?" She said, her voice loudening as if in call. No one answered.

She turned back down to the pillow that she was lying on, only to find herself face to face with a pair of large beetle-black eyes.

The two stared at one another as if in shock, both searching for words that could not travel to their tongues, both examining one another as if the true existence of the other was in question. Lilo lifted a hand and ran her fingers down the side of the creature's face, feeling the blue fur as it brushed against her hand. She found herself crying again, and with tears in her eyes she called out its name.

"Stitch!" Lilo exclaimed, her arms flinging about the experiment's neck, tight with her happiness.

"Lilo!" Stitch said, returning the embrace with one of his own, as overwhelmed with happiness as she was. He buried his face in her shoulder, and found a comfortable spot between her shoulder and neck. He closed his eyes and felt her warmth, her childish softness and found himself falling back into a contentment that he had abandoned long ago. Oh, Lilo, _his _Lilo!

Lilo was both crying and laughing. She was relieved, but sad, happy, but weary… she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel!

"Stitch missed Lilo," Stitch muttered to her, pulling away and wiping the tears that fell from her eyes.

"Same here," Lilo answered, sighing and rubbing away as much sadness as she could from her eyes. "What happened? How did you get here?"

Stitch cleared his throat, and began.

"Stitch told Jumba to use the wave finder to find where Lilo's transmitter went, even though Jumba said that Lilo might not be there, but Stitch told him to do it anyway, then Nani called the police and Pleakley gave her the wrong type of little talk, but the wave finder alarm went off so he didn't say anything and Stitch finally went to Paris, even though they wouldn't let him bring any weapons."

Stitch said all this in such a frighteningly quick way that Lilo didn't completely comprehend what he had been saying. Not to mention the fact that she had never heard him say so many English words ever before, the experiment more accustomed to his native tongue than the confusing language of English with its rules and its exceptions to those rules, and those further exceptions to those exceptions to those rules. She wasn't quite sure how to react to it all.

"Okay," was her only response. She leaned in again to give her "pet" another thankful hug, burying her face into his shoulder. She had missed him so much… "Nice hair, by the way," she added as she pulled away, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Shut up," Stitch muttered, an irked expression taking his once happy countenance. He wrapped his arms around his head as if trying to hide the golden trinkets that hung off his fur. Lilo laughed gently. Thank goodness Stitch was the same.

"Since when did you speak English?" Lilo decided to ask.

"English?" Stitch inquired, echoing Lilo's final word. "But… Stitch isn't speaking English…" he muttered, obviously confused. Lilo tilted her head in wonder.

"But how…" she began, lowering her eyebrows, trying to figure out what was going on. "Oh yeah…" She laughed. "I have a translator…"

Lilo let out a sigh and continued a long stare at the blue furred creature with a smile, content with just enjoying his presence in this place. Having not seen her O'hana for so long a time… it was just such a calming even to have one of them sitting before her after so many days… Not to mention the confusion she had to endure, here, where she had no idea what was going on half the time… which reminded her…

"Where are we, Stitch?" Lilo asked, hoping that he, who was hopefully not unconscious for most of his stay in this place like she was and might know a little more than she did. "What happened to me? How did I get here?"

Stitch let out a sigh.

"Lilo got hurt… Lilo got attacked by someone… The King took her here so that she would get better… We are in…"

"The king?" Lilo interrupted, curious.

"The king," Stitch said, nodding his head.

"You mean like one of those fat ugly people you see in those old paintings?" Lilo asked, trying to paint an image in her mind.

Stitch shook his head vehemently.

"No, no! The king is…"

"Is it just me, or did I hear a lovely little voice inside this tent?" A strange voice asked. It came from outside, and it drew Lilo and Stitch's attentions away from each other for the first time and to the far wall of the tent. Two flaps in the orange material were thrown apart like some sort of door, propelled away by two gloved hands. And, immediately afterward, in stepped a man that Lilo had never met the likes of before in her whole life.

"The king," Stitch muttered to her, turning away from the enterer as if in embarrassment.

The man whom had come in was somewhat strange looking. He had a rather large nose, not unattractive, but not exactly something a normal person would take claim to. He had a gigantic purple hat set upon his head, with a beautiful yellow feather hanging out. Over his shoulders he wore a yellow cloth, jingle bells hanging from the pointed edges of his cowl. His shoes were unusual as well, with their curling toes, and his legs were long and supple. There was a large smile on that goateed face, pleasant in its feel but mysterious nonetheless. Lilo couldn't take her eyes off of him. There was this sort of feeling, as if his mere existence called for the attention of others.

"Ah, welcome to the world of the living, my young lady," the man said, entering the room and taking a gallant bow before the foot of her pile of cushions. "How are you feeling this night?"

"Fine, I guess," Lilo answered, still feeling somewhat awkward. "Except my head hurts a little…"

"Well, that's understandable, my dear," the man said, laughing. "You've got quite a bump there, but it'll heal soon enough. You've worried everyone in this court… myself of course, poor Esmeralda… even that idiot of a gypsy Matthias… we've been waiting for you to awake…." He pointed at Stitch with a sort of smile. "That poor creature has been at your side since you arrived at this place."

Lilo turned her head at Stitch quietly, a happy grin creeping across her face. Stitch turned further away. Had any skin been visible she was sure it would've been red.

"Yeah," Lilo answered the man. "He's a good dog."

He let out another one of his pleasant chuckles, or, at least, he began to. He seemed to have stopped in the middle of their flow, somewhat taken aback at what she had said.

"A dog, did you say?" he asked, stroking his chin.

"Yup," Lilo replied, trying to hide the giggles she felt wanting to burst from her. "Can't you tell?"

"Of course!" the man replied, chuckling raucously. "Oh, of course! It's _obviously_ a dog!"

Lilo didn't completely believe he felt that way.

"By the way, let me introduce myself." The man took of his hat and took another debonair bow. "Clopin Trouillefou, your rescuer and king of this court."

"You rescued me?" Lilo asked. Wait… Stitch had already told her that. "Well… thanks…" she said. She wanted to be polite really, and her thanks should've been much more pleasant than it was… but the king didn't really seem to care.

"No thank you needed, my lady," he said, sitting down beside her. "And may I know the name of this lovely girl I see before me?"

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself as if in shock. Lovely girl? No one's ever called _her_ that before! "Are you talking about _me_?"

"But of course!" The man said with a laugh. "Who else would I be talking of?"

"My name? I-It's…It's L- lilo," she managed to stutter out. He was flustering her quite badly, this man!

"Ah, lovely name," Clopin said. He stretched out a little, yawning. "Long day, it's been. For the both of us…" He sighed, scratching himself and turning to her with a grin. "So, young one, shall we to the court?"

Lilo tilted her head quietly.

"To the what?" she asked, confused.

"The Court of Miracles!" Clopin answered. "Outside! Shall we?"

"The court… of miracles? What is…? I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Oh, you must be joking!" Clopin said, an obviously shocked look on his face. He shot up, picking her up off the bed and rushing out of the tent.

"Hey!" Lilo exclaimed, struggling in the strange man's arms. "What's the big idea?"

Clopin pushed Lilo outward away from him quickly so that she faced out into the area out of her tent, beckoning her to take a glimpse.

"Look! This is the court! Don't tell me you don't know of which I speak!"

What Lilo saw then was something she had never come across in Hawaii. The "court" as Clopin had called it, was itself rather dirty, old and mildewing, large but crowded. It had high ceilings with a partly vaulted roof, and dark but for the large campfire blazing in the center of the square, its flames crackling wildly against the darkness. It was as if there was something important going on then, some sort of ceremony that Lilo didn't know about… Women with flowing dresses danced about the fire, jumping capriciously across the floor with long colorful ribbons gliding after them. Men edged sat to the side, playing foreign instruments, and a boy sat at one end of the court, surrounded by animals. Caravans and tents, much like the one she had been stationed in, lined the edges of the roofed plaza. Fiery fabrics draped the walls.

"It's pretty…" Lilo said after a moment, unsure of how else to respond. She wasn't lying. Despite what it was in itself, these people, whoever or whatever they were, made the court something more. It was amazing what they did to make this place what it was now.

"… but you still have no idea of what I speak," Clopin added for her, sounding somewhat aggravated.

"That's about right," Lilo said sheepishly.

Clopin sighed quietly, and put her on the floor as Stitch walked out of the tent, somewhat annoyed at having been left behind. She didn't want the king to feel so bad, but she certainly didn't think he had the right to be because she didn't understand everything he spouted out. Lilo let out a sigh of her own and shook her head in annoyance.

The man turned quietly, giving her a smile, and sighed, beginning to sing.

_A place long ago hidden_

'_neath the somber stones of graves_

_Where live an ancient people_

_Titled sorcerers and knaves,_

_Past the lake of skeletons and_

_Well beyond the pale,_

_Just look around, my dear, you've found_

_The place where we all hail!_

Lilo listened to his voice as he sang, to the strange tone, to the lilting notes. She liked the sound as she loved Quasimodo's bells… It was different… something that she had never heard the likes of before.

Clopin turned to her with a sort of serious look on his face, and Lilo began to feel a bit unsure about the whole situation. He looked as if he wanted to do something to her that she wouldn't at all enjoy, like he was plotting something. She gave him a stare, a long and challenging one, as if daring him to do whatever he was thinking of doing. He gave her something of an amused look, and found himself letting out a frightening and somewhat evil snicker. Lilo gulped down her fear… He had seemed so pleasant just seconds before… what happened to him…? What was he going to d-?

Suddenly, in a burst of startling spontaneity, Clopin grabbed Lilo beneath the armpits and threw her up in the air, screaming. He caught her just before she collided with the floor and brought her close, rubbing his pointed nose against her own.

_Welcome to the court,_

_My pretty little girl,_

_Where miracles do happen_

_And stories do unfurl!_

_If you stay near you'll see and hear_

_The magic of our sort!_

_Our songs and dance, tales and romance,_

_So, welcome to the court!_

The tone of the song had changed completely, and a livelier beat took the place of the enigmatic slowness he had at first been singing with. He danced along, holding her at arms length so that her feet hung four feet above the ground, twirling her about and randomly tossing her into the air.

"What's going on!" Lilo asked as he caught her for the fourth time. Clopin shushed her, still smiling gaily, and put her down onto the floor. Lilo struggled to regain the equilibrium that was thrown off as the gypsy had made her airborne, but had little time to get used to the ground, for he had grabbed her wrist and forced her to follow. He led her to the front of the bonfire, reaching beneath her armpits and bringing her up again. Lilo cringed, afraid that he might be thinking of actually making her fly for the fifth time, and this time near the fire! But he didn't. He put her atop a wooden barrel set before the fire and he whistled, beckoning all to come to attention.

"Gather round, all people of the court," he said, clapping his hands. "Our little guest is quite awake."

The girls that had been dancing stopped for a second, coming from their places and approaching the king. One, Lilo noticed, was with Stitch, holding the blue creature in her arms, apparently catching him as he had attempted to pursue her and Clopin. She was a lovely young woman with thick and messy curls that fell over her shoulders, which were bare and a lovely color of cinnamon. She looked rather exotic, and her eyes were a deep green, something that wasn't too common even in Lilo's world.

The rest of the court made their way closer, gathering about the old drum and the two dark-skinned people who stood next to and upon it.

"She's the brave little girl who made an attempt at Bartholomew's cart!" Clopin said, making an exaggerated gesture in her direction.

Half the court seemed to laugh or to scoff at the words, and Lilo felt embarrassment rising to blush her cheeks. Some looked at her as if she were something of a courageous hero, but most had this disdainful look, as if regarding her as stupid. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to be here right now.

"Don't judge her intelligence too quickly!" the king added quickly, noticing the looks that his people were giving Lilo. "Apparently, she was sheltered somehow! My dear people, believe it or not, she has never heard of the Court of Miracles!"

Some laughed, others, including a puppet that had magically appeared on Clopin's right hand, gasped.

"Yes, yes, sad, isn't it?" Clopin remarked. "Whatever shall we do with her?"

He turned to face Lilo, looking upon her with one of the most frightening faces Lilo had encountered, and she gulped.

"Educate her!" Clopin's puppet exclaimed, bouncing on the gypsy's hand.

"Educate her?" the king repeated. He smiled at Lilo. "Splendid idea!" Clopin turned to the crowd, holding up Lilo's hand in his own. "Good people, should we educate her?"

The crowd cheered in agreement, lifting their fists into the air in a triumphant gesture. Lilo felt a little daunted at the notion, but remained silent as the crowd moved closer at the suggestion.

"Wonderful!" Clopin vociferated, and a moment later, Lilo found herself grabbed about the waist and thrown into the crowd.

The throng of men and women received her easily, and moved her along, holding her up in the air with their hands, Lilo obviously flustered. Clopin himself made his way atop the barrel and leapt onto the hands of his people, held up in a lying position, his head in one hand. He pulled a dagger from its sheath at his side and pointed forward.

"Onward!" He exclaimed, chuckling madly.

_We've many things to show you_

_So let us take the helm,_

_We'll all pitch in to help you see_

_The beauty of our realm!_

_Although the bricks need fixing_

_And the mortar's crumbling bad_

_We have this home and love it_

_More than anybody's had!_

Lilo was brought about the court and made to discover its wonders. The crowd had deposited her by the boy with the animals and distributed themselves among the square, Clopin and a couple of gypsies at his side. She was introduced to the animals, the goats, horses, and pigs that the group took along with them when they traveled. She went inside the caravans, where they showed her how they lived when they were traveling, heard and played the instruments that the foreign men had been playing.

_Welcome to the court,_

_It's here we call our home,_

_A place of shelter for the time_

_We haven't gone to roam_

_Where ladies flounce_

_And we denounce_

_The laws of Frollo's fort!_

_Where beauty reigns_

_In structures strange,_

_Oh, welcome to the court!_

The women that had been to the side for so long were dancing yet again, their flowing scarves still trailing their movements, their thick curls playing about their striking countenances. The beautiful one that Lilo had spotted before was dancing with Stitch, who didn't seem at all annoyed at having the woman's attention; he actually seemed to be enjoying the whole situation.

Clopin was smiling above Lilo and gestured for the woman to approach.

"Lilo, I would love for you to meet the lovely Esmeralda."

The dancer gave Lilo a smile, setting Stitch down beside her.

"Hi," Lilo said, extending a hand to shake. The woman gave it a strange look, as if she wasn't sure what was being asked, and Lilo withdrew her hand in embarrassment. "I want to be a dancer too someday!"

"Someday? You can be a dancer now!" Esmeralda said, and she pulled Lilo away from Stitch and Clopin and brought her into the center of the square.

While Esmeralda did her splits and different moves, striking a tambourine that she had magicked into her hands, Lilo found the beat and began her own dance. The hula, moving her hands across the air, drawing invisible flowers with their tips. Esmeralda clapped, laughing pleasantly, and Clopin joined her, doing his own strange little choreography.

Finally, the king took Lilo away and returned her attention to the court.

_Oh how the fabrics drape along the stone walls,_

_And the campfire crackles gaily on the square!_

_The spirits exist_

_Forever betwixt_

_Here and beyond, and yet they're everywhere!_

The man pointed to the reds, purples and blues that decorated the walls like tapestries, and the large bonfire who cast unusual shadows across the walls. The forms were black and frightening, and they moved and bended, morphed by the light, and Lilo found herself laughing. It was somewhat frightening, but it was interesting, Clopin likening them to spirits.

He pulled her back into the center of the square and tossed her into the air, bringing her into a tango-like position, leading her through the dance. He conjured a red rose into his hand and placed it in his mouth and dipped her downward, giving her a charming smile, then tossing her into the air and catching her happily.

_Welcome to the court,_

_Come, listen to us sing,_

_And join the throng of gypsies_

_As we form a happy scene,_

_The dancing and romancing,_

_Stands out from all other sport!_

_So come be in our family,_

_Dear, welcome to the court!_

The instruments began blazing ever faster, a mixture of violins, flutes, mandolins and many different things, forcing faster moves to the group, Clopin singing as they quickened. Finally, the song ended, and the whole gypsy group moved forward and pushed Lilo upward, so that she sat above all the people there, a gesture of friendship from the group.

"So," Clopin began as they replaced her on the floor and dispersed, "what do you think, my dear Lilo?"

"I like it!" She exclaimed, jumping in excitement. "It's great here!"

"That it is, that it is!" Clopin said, laughing. "You're quite the amusing persona, did you know?"

Stitch found his way back to Lilo and stayed at her side in usual doggy sitting position, tilting his head and waiting for the king to leave so that he might have a chat with Lilo. It had been so long since they had been together, or at least it _felt_ that way, and he just wanted to be alone with her for a moment. And besides, now she could completely understand him. That was a definite plus, was it not?

Clopin looked at Stitch, stroking his chin as if a thought had entered his mind.

"Excuse me, my dear; I've some business to attend to. Matthias!" Clopin yelled out, turning away. "Matthias, I've got something to discuss with you!"

Stitch and Lilo watched as the king left.

"Weirdo," Stitch muttered.

"Yup," Lilo agreed.

"Lilo… tomorrow… Stitch and Lilo... we go home, okay?"

Lilo looked at Stitch, turning her head quietly.

"Tomorrow?" she asked, sounding somewhat incredulous. "You mean I get to go home… tomorrow?"

"Yes," Stitch answered, nodding.

"But… my transmitter…"

"Stitch has Lilo's transmitter," Stitch answered, holding up a metal band, somewhat burnt about the edges but in fine working order.

"My…my transmitter," Lilo murmured, reaching out and taking the bracelet. "Where was it?"

"In the middle of a field," Stitch answered.

"So _that's_ why I couldn't find it!" Lilo exclaimed. She laughed quietly. "So… we go home tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Stitch said, looking quietly at the transmitter. Ten hours until the transmitter automatically sent him home… "Tomorrow."

**Author's Note:** **End! Yay, wasn't that exciting? Okay… not really… the writing really sucked… Yeah… well… yeah… Any questions? Any comments? Review! And thank you, Yaarp16, for your encouragement… It really got me going… I mean, I just moved. Okay? Yeah… I miss my old house already… Next chapter up hopefully a lot sooner. **

**Fun Fact # whatever it is now…: The song in this story goes to the tune of La Jour d'Amour, from Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. I'm not a huge fan of that movie (not really much of a fan either), and the songs weren't exactly my favorite, so I tried to make my own version of it. I know I'm not a song writer; you don't have to poke at me for that… Actually, one version of The Hawaiian and the Hunchback was supposed to be a musical! Yeah, strange idea. We had Lilo jumping around the streets for a while singing a song called "Finally free" to the tune of the song "I'd stick with you", same movie. I dropped it because it's hard writing a musical down in a story (as you see in this chapter). **

**That was the fun fact of the chapter! Live long and prosper!**

**-Guille van Cartier**


	19. Story

**Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, it's been updated. Gasp out loud and wonder what in the name of all that is holy is going on! Yes... Actually, I'm quite grounded from the internet. I had a very disappointing score on my report card this semester and my mother and father _insist_ I do better. So, badabing, no internet. Until the next report card comes. At the end of the year. And my grade better be up. But, there's a problem. The teacher that taught the class that I'm not doing very well in... well, he quit. And I've had nothing but substitutes. Who don't assign graded work. SO... No falling grade, but sure as heck, no rising one either. Is this the end of the Hawaiian and the Hunchback! Of course not silly. Read on. It's short, though. And please review. Remember: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, S'IL VOUS PLAIT. **

Chapter 19

A few hours before Lilo's awakening, as the rain had begun falling heavily on the worn streets of ancient Paris, a solitary figure sat in the shadows of the bell tower of Notre Dame, plaintively silent. His face was turned to the large open windows to the outside, where sheets of wet rain could be seen as they made their pitter-pattering descent, casting blue and gray light upon the wooden boards, the rain-tainted light glimmering dully off glass shards that lay strewn across the floor. The figure had been crying for a long while beforehand because of this. But for now, he was waiting, waiting as he had been for hours already, his hope waning, but expectant nonetheless.

"Ya think the kid would've learned that dancing in the rain ain't good for ya," Hugo muttered, watching Quasimodo from another point in the bell tower.

"If that's what she's doing, it ain't good for Quasi either," Laverne acceded, her apish arms crossed before her, a concerned look on her worn, stone façade.

"Perhaps she's been incapacitated!" Victor whispered, anxiously gnawing on the chipped rock that formed his fingers. "You don't suppose something horrible _has_ happened to the young girl? She _is_ very small…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Laverne said, waving off the idea. "She's got spunk. We shouldn't worry about her."

Laverne said this with a somewhat forced resolve, as if she were saying this in an attempt to push away any thought that disagreed with her words. Somewhere, not so deep inside her head, she knew that the chances of Lilo having met some horrible end were a good possibility. She was a little girl, after all, despite any spunk she might own, and she didn't have too many street smarts to be truthful. Actually, she seemed to know as little about the outside world as Quasimodo himself, which was very worrisome, considering who Quasimodo _was_.

Laverne returned her attention to the bell ringer, who continued his vigil, leaning against an old vertical beam, his face blank. His fingers were curled loosely about Scrump's body, running gently over the strange fabric.

The old gargoyle shook her head.

Lilo better be out there dancing in the rain… otherwise, she'd never forgive her for doing what she was doing to her boy.

Lilo sat on the bed that she had woken up in, Stitch murmuring incoherently in his sleep. Her little fingers ran through his fur, the strange trinkets tinkling gently against one another, and she sighed. It was almost midnight, and they had a short time before they would go home… a few hours, Stitch had told her before he had gone to sleep… about eight. Eight more hours, less than a day, yet so far away… She shook her head, waiting for sleepiness to crawl into her thoughts. But no… not anywhere near it…

She couldn't quite help feeling like this… there was an understandable anxiety! She had been away from her family for such a long time… and now… finally, finally she'd be able to see them again!

Lilo looked down at Stitch with a smile. The first thing that she was going to do when she got home was give Nani a big fat hug and buy Stitch a lot of shave ice.

"Tired already, my dear?"

Clopin walked into the tent, that same curious smile on his long face. Lilo returned the smile.

"He had a big day," she told him. She turned back to Stitch and continued to stroke him gently, listening to those same mutterings, enjoying that same adorable face, half-smiling in its sleep.

"Most of it was spent looking after you," Clopin said with an amused look, seating himself beside Lilo and leaning over the creature as the little Hawaiian did. He extended a hand to touch the dog's head, but stopped as Stitch let out a growl of warning. The king lifted an eyebrow, his hand still hovering above the blue fur, then withdrew, laughing ridiculously.

"Oh dear, what an intuitive creature," he said, shaking his head, his voice light still with an undertone of laughter.

"Yeah," Lilo said with a nod, not completely understanding why Stitch, despite his unconsciousness, had decided to react in such a way. She tilted her head in that familiar sideways glance, and then lowered her face to plant a kiss upon her pet's brow. "He's special," she said, pulling back.

"Yes," the gypsy man acceded. "Very special. Oh, by the way," he said, straightening out in a serious manner, "I have something I would like to discuss with you."

"Discuss?" Lilo asked, looking up at Clopin in a curious manner.

Clopin nodded gravely.

"Yes," he said. "Discuss."

"Okay, I guess," Lilo replied with a shrug. "What do you want to discuss?"

"Something I found lying in one of your hands," Clopin explained, reaching over to a pouch at his side, "when you were quite unconscious. Ah, yes, here we go."

Clopin removed something from the money bag, resealed it, then returned back to the little girl. His black-gloved hands were clutched about something that Lilo could not see despite her best efforts, and she felt another surge of childish interest.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Something," Clopin answered, "that has been, I think, an heirloom to a certain gypsy family for an uncountable number of years."

"I had something that important?" Lilo asked, very surprised at the news.

Clopin let out a laugh.

"Apparently," he replied, smiling. His long fingers opened themselves slowly, and, soon enough, a large coin, new polished and barely recognizable to Lilo, could be seen, resting upon the square of his palm.

The little Hawaiian peered at it. It was familiar, she thought. _Very_ familiar. But she didn't quite remember seeing anything quite that beautiful or brilliant too recently, excepting the trinkets that hung from the hair and clothing of the gypsies that remained without the tent. So where did it…? Lilo stared into the eyes of that half-frowning sun, with its lifted brow, and suddenly a thought struck her.

"The talisman," she said suddenly, taking the medallion from Clopin. "It's the one I found in Quasimodo's…"

With a scream of realization, Lilo sprung upwards, Stitch toppling unceremoniously off her lap and letting out a startled growl. Clopin fell backwards somewhat, catching himself with his now free hands, and watching for a bewildered second as Lilo hastened to the flaps of the tent exit.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," she kept muttering, slipping her sandals back on clumsily, and letting out an irritated groan when she realized she put them on the wrong feet.

"Where are you going, my dear?" he asked, regaining his bearings. He stood himself upright as Stitch mumbled ungraciously at the side, rubbing his head, which had collided harshly against the stone floor.

"Quasimodo," Lilo answered back, not really revealing anything quite helpful. She replaced her shoes, this time correctly, let out a relieved sigh after checking the twice, then made her way to the door.

"Quasimodo?" Clopin repeated in question. He approached her, grabbing her wrist before she could get herself completely out of the tent. "Where are you going?"

"Let go!" she exclaimed, turning back and attempting to pry his fingers from her arm. "Quasimodo!" she said again, a look of sad desperation coming across her face. "I have to see Quasimodo! I promised him I'd come back! If I don't he'll be sad again, and it'll be all my fault, and he'd never forgive me—"

"Young lady!" Clopin said, giving her a look. "What, by the powers, do you mean?"

"I left!" Lilo blurted. "I left him, and he said I wouldn't come back, and I didn't, even though I said I would! He'll never trust me again! I need to go back, or he'll be sad!"

"Quasimodo?" the gypsy king inquired.

Lilo nodded, then turned and tried to pull out.

"Please," she said, trying not to cry. "I don't want him to be mad at me again."

Clopin stood there, quite befuddled by the young girl's behavior. What was she going on about? Quasimodo, that bell ringer, would be angry at her? But, why would he be? He turned back at Stitch, who was now quite awake, but only got a mirror expression of his own perplexity. Apparently, the dog didn't quite know either why she was acting so strange.

Finally, Lilo, exhausted by her endeavors and feeling a return of that head pain that had for two hours disappeared, fell onto her knees, Clopin still clutching to her wrist. Her hair fell about her face like a shade, hiding her mouth as it frowned, her eyebrows as they lowered, her tears as they fell.

Clopin, now completely confused, let go of the girl's wrist, and her hand fell to her side, unmoving. She didn't even attempt to get away.

The man let out a sigh and fell to his knees, wrapping a reassuring arm around Lilo's small shoulders, whispering comfort to her.

"Come now, child," he said, drawing her back into the tent. "You need your rest. You can't go gallivanting off into the night, especially in your condition." He picked her up and rested her down beside Stitch.

"But," Lilo began, wiping away the tears.

Clopin put a finger to her mouth and let out a small shushing sound, shaking his head.

"You can go tomorrow," he told her, giving her a smile. "Anyway, it's raining. Who wants to be cold and wet?"

Lilo sighed.

"I guess you're right," she said. She turned to Stitch. "We can go visit Quasimodo before we go home, right?"

Stitch gave her a look. That would mean having to wake up earlier, he thought in annoyance. And, what with him being quite awake at the moment, that didn't seem too dandy of an idea for him. But, he agreed, nodding. After all, with all this fuss she was making, it had to be very important.

"Thanks," she said, and she gave him a grateful peck on the forehead.

Stitch rubbed the spot in embarrassment. Your welcome, he thought.

Clopin cleared his throat.

"So, my dear, might we get onto what I was talking about?" he asked.

"Sure," she said with a nod.

"Wonderful. Now, about that talisman you're holding so tightly in your hand," he said, gesturing toward it. "How did you come across it?"

"What do you mean?" Lilo inquired.

"How did it come into your possession," he rephrased, "how did it become yours? Was it an heirloom? Did you find it? Did you steal it?"

Lilo felt a smidgeon of guilt rising in her stomach.

"Sort of…" she replied, scratching the back of her head.

"You stole it?" Clopin asked. He clicked his tongue. "This is rather valuable, both in money and sentimentality! It was rather rude of you to go off and steal it."

"Well, it was all moldy with spider webs on it!" Lilo exclaimed in her defense. "Sorry, if I didn't think Quasimodo needed it anymore!"

Clopin started.

"Quasimodo?" he asked. "This belonged to Quasimodo?"

Lilo nodded.

"Well, I think it did," she said, correcting her earlier response. "It was in his bell tower…"

Clopin seemed very interested.

"A gypsy talisman hidden away in Quasimodo's bell tower," he mused aloud, stroking his chin, "tarnished and mildewed by time unrelenting, abandoned deep within the shadows and dust that shrouds the mystery of Notre Dame."

"Wow, that's pretty," Lilo said, listening to him. "Do you write stories?"

Clopin glanced down at her with a grin.

"Not _write_ exactly," he told her. "But I am a storyteller, yes,"

"Really?" she asked.

He nodded, a proud smile upon his face.

"A pretty good one, I would like to say," he said.

"That's great," Lilo said. "Why is it so weird for Quasi to have a doodad in his tower?"

"Quasi?" Clopin asked.

"Nickname."

"Ah… well, it's not that it's strange…" he said, his deep thoughts evident on his face, once tight and young, now wise and aged, revealing the years that he so easily hid. "It's just that, this bit, this information, is just the inspiration that this old gypsy has been looking for."

"Inspiration?"

"Yes…inspiration," he replied, nodding.

Lilo gave him a strange look.

Clopin stroked his chin in thought. How was he going to explain this?

"My dear," he began at length, "have you ever had…writer's block, I think is the term for it."

"Sometimes," Lilo answered, "when me and Stitch are coming up with stuff… why?"

"Well," Clopin thought, "I had some writer's block. A very, very _bad _bout of it. I knew what I was aiming at, I knew what I wanted in this story, I had it all in my head… but," he paused, looking off into the distance, "I couldn't produce it. For some reason, I didn't feel stirred to create a good story, though I felt I wanted to… And this…" he took the talisman from her and lifted it up, examining its face with a smile, "this will hopefully remedy every uncertainty that I felt…"

Lilo looked at the talisman with a new interest.

"What's the story about?"

"It's about a monster," he began.

The Hawaiian frowned at him indignantly.

"He is _not _a monster!" she screamed at him.

Clopin gave her a calm look.

"Why, whatever are you talking about?" he asked her knowingly, a slight smile coming onto his face. "Of course he is… a horrible monster, whose life is and was nothing but a painful mixture of lies and misguidance, of unholy purging done in the name of holiness, of deceit all for the forgiveness of sins too horrible for the human tongue to relay."

Lilo shook her head.

"No!" she cried. "He's nothing like that!"

"Oh, isn't he?" Clopin asked, raising an eyebrow. "By all means, others in this court would say I described that monster to a T."

"That's a lie," Lilo muttered angrily.

"Oh, don't be too sure of yourself," the king continued, laughing. "Yes… a monster, a horrible monster… hidden behind the black robes of a judge."

Lilo blinked in confusion.

"Judge?" she asked, not understanding.

"Yes, Judge… that horrible Frollo, demon judge," he said with a sort of vehemence. He lifted a fist in the air and shook it in anger. "May the devil take your black soul, if hell be evil enough to hold it!"

"You're talking about Frollo?" Lilo asked, tilting her head.

"Why of course!" Clopin said, beaming at her. "Who else would I be talking about?"

Lilo shook her head, embarrassed, letting a relieved sigh from her mouth.

"Yeah… I don't like him either," she said, changing the subject. "He's a big meanie!"

"Oh, yes, big meanie is right, my dear!" Clopin said, nodding passionately. "A big, wrinkled, ugly old meanie!"

"Yeah!" Lilo exclaimed, jumping happily in the air.

"By the bells of Notre Dame, he is a monster, not a man!" Clopin added.

Lilo stopped for a moment and grinned.

"I like that," she told him. "Bells of Notre Dame!"

"Yes, it does have a bit of a ring to it," Clopin admitted, stroking his beard.

"Anyway… tell me the story!" Lilo demanded, jumping onto Clopin's lap.

"What, now?"

"Yeah! I wanna hear it!"

"Alright, my dear… but forgive me, it's a bit rough."

And there, he began, taking the talisman into one hand. From his lips spouted a story, one of mystery and sorrow, birth and death, gypsies and judges… Of gentle old Deacons and those powerful eyes of Notre Dame that Lilo knew well already. Of monsters, hiding deep in the skin of men, men who seem pious yet follow horrible lies… Lilo listened, and listened well, as the gypsy king continued, a look of excitement and happiness gleaming on that handsome face. And, as if in the blink of an eye, the story was finished, and Lilo lay in Clopin's arms, asleep.

Clopin smiled, running his fingers through her long hair, smoothing out the bandages.

_Lie on down to rest, my dear,_

_Lie on down to rest._

_As the wind whispers clear upon your ear_

_And the moon lies on your breast._

_For night has finally come, my love,_

_The night has finally come,_

_And the stars above are singing of_

_The land that we come from._

_And dreams are creeping close, my sweet_

_The dreams are creeping close,_

_To steal away, 'til break of day,_

_My dear, my love, my rose._

And with that, he lay her down next to Stitch, who had long ago fallen into slumber, and, like a father to his child, he tucked her tightly in. He pulled away, and, with a final glance over his shoulder at the girl and her pet, he made his way out of the tent.

**Author's Note: Okee dokee, that's the end of it. Next chapter, Lilo and Stitch, away! Yay! I made Clopin really weird in this one. I don't know... half the time the TV was on so it was hard to concentrate. Anyway, here's were I answer some questions.**

**Yaarp16? You asked whether Lilo would stay with Quasimodo or leave with Stitch. And you also called it a stupid question. Questions have feelings too you know, and calling it stupid was uncalled for! As for the answer... you have to read the story to find out. **

**Fun fact # Wutevah: Clopin's lullaby, as seen just above, was totally made up off the top of my head. It wasn't even in the original idea, I was just typing this down and decided, well, you know, I think I like it when Clopin sings, darn it, I'll write him a song! And here you go. Not too corny, is it? My mom laughed at it. sniffle Ah well... c'est la vie, non? J'aime beaucoup ma mere, et je pense qu'elle aime moi, aussi. Si... shrug N'importe quoi.**

**_sings _**

**_Quand les cloches sonnent, les cloches questionnent,_**

**_Dans le ciel de Notre Dame..._**

**_L'homme est-il un monstre, ou le monstre un homme?_**

**_Et les cloches sonnent, sonnent, sonnent, sonnent, sonnent, sonnent, sonnent,_**

**_Les cloches de Notre Dame!_**


	20. Where is she?

**Author's Note: HEY! THIS IS ACTUALLY UPDATED! AREN'T YOU, LIKE, TOTALLY SURPRISED! So, here's the deal. I was grounded because of an "F" I got in one of my classes (which is now a "B", if any of you'd like to know), and THEN my phoneline got busted. But, here it is, Chapter 20, sorry that I can't say that much, but I'm sort of busy. Read and Review, have a great night! The next funfact (if anyone reads them) will come along with the next chapter!**

Chapter 20

The pounding rain took the vast skies that hung above old Paris, never really disappearing over the long night that had passed. The falling drops had, in fact, seemed to harden, and the grey clouds took more of the wide heavens than it had the dreary day before, not allowing a single golden ray of sunlight to permeate its thick surface. It was a cold winter morning, and it was not very early, but the tortuous streets remained mysteriously empty, save for a few shadowy figures, probably out for business of the shady variety. Nobody seemed to want to chance even a quick trip along the narrow avenues during the rain. So, most remained within their drafty houses, lingering by an early crackling fire, keeping warm as the gloomy storm continued outside and the howling wind swept along.

In one of these old, half-timbered houses, situated very near the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame, a middle-aged woman stoked the dancing flames in her brick fireplace. She looked worn, understandably tired, and there was a look of inexplicable worry on her wizened face as she wrapped her old shawl about her for warmth, glancing above one shoulder at a small figure that lay haphazardly upon an old hay mattress, swathed in a frayed blanket. The young girl breathed heavily in her sleep, her expression pained and fatigued. The French woman sighed worriedly. Dawn had been struck with a mysterious illness just the night before; why it had come to occur was a thing hidden deep in the shadows of reason. Her husband had left in hopes of finding one of Paris's doctors that would help aid them in their predicament. But, he had yet to return from his appointed task.

Dawn's mother had wept throughout the night by her daughter's side. She was the only child she had; if she was lost to an illness, she would probably herself die of grief.

The woman moved to the bedside table, where there sat a wide-mouthed ewer and a large basin, both filled with water. She took an old rag that lay folded beside the bowl and dipped it gingerly into the pool of water, twisting it to remove any excess, which dripped quietly back into the basin. She dabbed at her daughter's sweat-dotted forehead, a frown of concern flitting across her face. She released a tired sigh. She hoped that something better would come soon.

It was all the fault of that gypsy and his horrid pet! thought she as she perused the expression that took her daughter's fair countenance. That blue creature had cursed her with that look of his, that shocking glare from those cold black eyes… Her face fell into her hands. How could she have allowed this to happen…? If she had only opposed to her daughter's request and taken her away from the street show, then perhaps Dawn wouldn't be in such a sad state.

Feeling a strong emotion rising up in her chest, the woman folded the rag onto the rim of the wide basin and made her way to the window, not wanting to cry anymore beside her daughter.

She opened the wooden shutters to stare out into the damp city streets, her tears now mingling with the number of raindrops that fell upon her creased visage. Notre Dame towered above like a sentient being, standing strong and tall against the storm that ensued. The old woman glanced up its face, searching the faces of those old statues that decorated its façade for some inkling of hope, praying as her eyes wandered across the surface of that grand edifice.

Then suddenly she stopped, and drew away from the window in horror, closing the shutters as she moved further inside. She rushed to her daughter's side and clutched the young girl's hand, burying her face onto her soft skin. She had seen him… she had seen that cursed demon that roamed through Notre Dame's halls… That hideous deformation of reality, that Quasimodo! Oh, no good could come of this happening, she thought, her sobs strengthening as her contemplation focused on that single omen. He'd probably cursed her as that creature had done…

The woman ran a thin hand along her daughter's face with all maternal gentleness.

May God allow a miracle, thought she. May my daughter be saved from all the wickedness that has blighted her life. May the horrible creature and the hunchback burn in the fiery recesses of hell, and may my daughter's soul be exorcised of this curse.

And, with that prayer lingering in her thoughts, she put Dawn's hand to her forehead and closed her eyes to rest.

Quasimodo noted the slight movement of the aged shutters, and heard but a whisper of noise against the backdrop of pounding rain as they swung to a close. His eyes remained on those wooden boards for but a second, before finally returning to the square that stretched out below him. He had been searching that plaza for quite a while already, moving to stand out in the rain after he had rung the morning bells, not moving from his spot since then. He was looking, forever looking, for someone, someone who he hoped would appear in that square, someone who had promised she would.

Quasimodo had been waiting for Lilo since the afternoon of the day before. But she hadn't come, and Scrump remained in his possession. Whether or not she had chosen to leave him, as he had feared before she had left, or had been obstructed by something horrible that had prevented her to come home was not something he could determine just yet. But neither possibility seemed wonderful, for both her and himself.

He allowed his breath to escape in a steamy haze. He hadn't felt it before, but he was beginning to… the coldness in his wet clothes, the uncomfortable clinging of that green fabric to his skin… his hair was also dripping, his sight partially blurred by the rain… he had been waiting out there for so long… was she even going to come?

No… no, he wouldn't allow that feeling to come into his mind again, that stab of rejection that flowed into his brain whenever he considered the idea. He wouldn't allow himself to believe that she would break that promise. Even she understood the sacred workings of an oath, he thought. If she destroyed her word, she would destroy what credibility she had. And that would be a point of dishonor that could be read almost immediately upon the faces of those who carried it. He hugged himself tight, trying to reinforce himself against the chill of both winter and some other frozen thing. He would wait out here… until she returned.

There was a loud clamor deep in the Court of Miracles, one that resounded noisily against its confined halls. The gypsies that resided within the subsurface hideout lifted their heads questioningly to the uproar. What in the name of all that was holy was going on?

Suddenly, from within an old tent set up against one aging wall, Matthias's blue dog (a fact that was established the night before) burst out into the roofed square, screaming. Behind him, Lilo rushed clumsily after, straightening out her hair, her fingers clutched about that old talisman that she had taken from Quasimodo.

"We're late, Stitch!" Lilo exclaimed after him, dodging past a few bewildered gypsies in her attempt of getting out of the court.

"Yeah, Stitch already knows that, Lilo!" the experiment screamed back, leading her toward the case of wide stairs that led to the mouth of the sewage-flooded catacombs. A few of the court's inhabitants exchanged glances, hearing only a gurgle of incomprehensible syllables, but recognizing the sounds of a language. And, what was more confusing was the little girl's response, which seemed to be in the same language as the creature's.

"We'll never get to their on time!" She yelled, wiping away a few tears. "Quasimodo will be mad at me!"

Stitch shot her a look, maybe of jealousy, maybe of something else, but it didn't reflect any pleasantness in it. Perhaps it was the fact that he had woken up so abruptly to the fifteen minute alarm on the transmitter. They had only a quarter of an hour left until the transmitter automatically sent them across time and space, back to the island of Kauai, and Lilo was not feeling quite so happy about this.

"If Lilo wants to get their so quickly, then maybe Lilo should run a little faster!" Stitch growled in irritation.

Lilo pouted angrily.

"Well sorry if I'm not a super genetic experimentation like you!" she screamed indignantly, still straining to keep up.

Stitch stopped after these words, so that the speeding Lilo ended up crashing into his backside.

"Get on!" he ordered, presenting his back for her to sit on. Lilo nodded and climbed onto his back, just able to cling onto his large ears before the experiment suddenly burst away at his top speed. He jumped swiftly into the pool of liquid that slid across the floors of the dark tunnels, making a quick jump past a gigantic pile of skeletons that rose to the side. It was lucky Lilo wasn't able to see anything in such darkness; otherwise this might overwhelm her.

Suddenly, from the side, a torch was lit and one man in skeleton garb stepped forth from the wall. Stitch stopped for a moment to look at him. He grimaced. It was that very man that had stuffed him into the sack originally. But, where were the rest of his skeleton guard?

"I see the dog is leaving," he said, approaching with the same bag, probably made of that famous 'Matthias's material' that had trapped him at first. "You know, little creature, your master would be very upset if you left, and the king would be even angrier to see that you are taking away his new guest."

Stitch growled, yelling out several words in his native language that made Lilo laugh at the vulgarity.

"Oh, let him go, Balthazar," a familiar voice said. "He desires to be free, it seems, more than the rest of our animals."

Clopin stepped out into the light, his clothes adorned with bones as well, a half-skull mask worn upon the top of his face. He smiled, making his way to the Hawaiian and her pet, and put a hand on Lilo's head as he ruffled Stitch's hair.

"You want to see your hunchback, don't you?" he asked Lilo.

"Yeah," Lilo answered, nodding her head.

"Then go!" he said with a laugh, nudging Stitch's backside as if telling him to get a move on. "You wouldn't want to keep that poor boy waiting, now would you?"

"Nope," Lilo answered swiftly. She patted Stitch gently on the side. "Go, Stitch!"

And, with that, Stitch exploded forward growling loudly, Lilo letting out a spirited "Yee-haw" as she and her pet disappeared into the darkness.

Clopin scratched his chin contentedly as he watched the two depart, and he leaned gently on Balthazar's shoulder.

"That child is going to change the world one of these days," he told the guard. He sighed. "I remember when she first came in here like it was yesterday."

"It was yesterday…"

"Don't interrupt; let me be sentimental," Clopin snapped temperamentally. He fell back into that mood he had earlier. "I remember when she first came in here like it was yesterday," he repeated, sending Balthazar a look as if daring him to say something. The guard remained silent. "When she arrived in my arms, such a tiny little thing, with only that talisman and her bag… just a minute!" he said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. "Her bag! By the gods, I've forgotten to give it to her!" he skipped backward making his way toward the court. "Ah well. I suppose I'll have to hand deliver it, then, won't I?"

Balthazar watched as his king sped back to the mouth of the square and shook his head, sighing. What a strange man.

Lilo and Stitch bounded down the streets of Paris, Lilo still clutching tightly the creature's ears as he sped along. They had only eight minutes left, meeting many detours as they tried to make their way along the confusing and unfamiliar paths that veined along the face of the French city. Finally, they were near the tower, and the street that they now ran downward directly led to the square before the cathedral.

Stitch hastened forward, his speed reaching almost its limit, when he suddenly slipped upon the slippery surface of a damp cobblestone. With a shriek, the experiment landed face down on the walkway a few feet from his tripping spot, as Lilo was thrown forward beyond him, tumbling along, gaining a few bruises.

With a groan, she got to her feet. She looked down the path. Notre Dame was only a square away, she thought. She might have a chance of getting to Quasimodo if she just ran as fast as he could to the tower. She glanced back over her shoulder at the experiment who lay groaning almost in defeat in the rain. She grimaced at the sight. She didn't have time for this!

Lilo rushed out onto the square without Stitch, slipping minutely on a few cobblestones but having the will to keep going. Close… she was close! Quasimodo wouldn't hate her!

The doors were so near to her now, she could just feel the coldness of the iron handles…

Just a few feet away… Up the stairs, right there, the doors… reach out, touch the handles… pull it open!

"Oh no you don't!"

Lilo felt the strong grasp of two hands as they clutched at both of her arms, pulling her away from the doors.

"What? What's happening?" Lilo looked around her. Two guards, eyes hidden behind metal helmets, towered above her, dutiful frowns on their faces. Thy dragged her away, down the steps up a side street. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

The guards ignored her questions.

"NO!" Lilo exclaimed, struggling to get away. "Let go of me! I need to see somebody! Let go of me!"

And still, the guards showed no attention to her.

No! This was wrong! What were they doing; what did she do?

"Stitch!" she screamed out suddenly, "Stitch, help me!"

As if in immediate response to her call, a blur of blue leapt upon one of the guards, clawing horribly. The attacked man released Lilo's arm, yelling in pain as Stitch continued his assault. The other watched with fear and confusion at the happenings, and Lilo was able to slip from his hands. She made her way back to the square, back toward the cathedral. She looked at her transmitter. She only had five minutes left…

But, before she could get in, she was recaptured. He led her back down the street. This time, she struggled horribly, pushing at his hands, until suddenly, he pulled horribly against her wrist, the clasp on the transmitter breaking apart. The metal band fell onto the street. They rejoined that other guard, who stood alone, tending to his wounds. Stitch lay, partially knocked out to the side, a bludgeon laying beside him.

"Come on, let's go," he said, gesturing with his head down the street. "Leave that little demon."

And, with Lilo weeping horribly, they forced her down the street, the unconscious Stitch disappearing from sight as they turned a corner.

Quasimodo had begun crying. She wasn't there yet… she wouldn't come, would she? She'd just left them there to wait… just left him with that broken promise…

He laid his head down on the balustrade and closed his eyes, allowing the tears to flow freely down his cheeks. It was this strange feeling, this emptiness in his heart… he just wanted to end it…

He heard a slight noise from below, like someone screaming…strange… it was the most noise he had heard all day. He lifted his head up curiously, and looked down at the square below. His heart skipped a beat.

"Lilo…" he muttered gently. There she was, running to the cathedral! He saw her… that was her red dress; he would recognize the white on red print anywhere! She was going to the door...

Quasimodo pushed away from the stone banister and rushed down the steps that led to the main of the church. An ecstatic smile stretched across his face. He knew she wouldn't break her promise, he just knew it!

He received several stares as he entered the main hall, dripping wet. He looked around, still smiling expectantly, looking for a flash of red from her dress, or something else that might clue him in on her location. His face fell slightly. She's not here…

Outside! She must be outside! With a sudden rush, he made his way to the doors, and pushed it open.

He felt his heart fall for another second. There was nothing there… nothing there but the pouring rain, no sign of the little girl. He sighed sadly. It must've just been an illusion. So, with tears staining his cheeks again, he withdrew, shutting the doors behind him.


	21. Save Lilo!

**Author's note: Hello, everyone, I missed you all! Thank you very much for the reviews, they make everything worthwhile. Actually, I was ignoring this story for some reason, and it just popped into my head yesterday. So, I thought, darn it... I left Lilo and Quasimodo doing nothing... actually, Quasimodo's going to continue doing nothing for this chapter... But anyway, if you're still there, even though I totally went away for a while, I invite you to come back and read. Please, tell me what you think about my story! And, as always, constructive crticism is more than welcome, it is wanted!

* * *

**

There Clopin was, standing before the great cathedral of Notre Dame, staring up its facade with that familiar smile upon his thin face. He was totally soaked; he had walked all the way from the Court of Miracles to the cathedral through the rain, not even bothering to lower the brim of his hat to maybe keep the rain at bay, at least from his face. But no, that was not Clopin's style, and though rain did not stand to be the Gypsy king's favorite form of weather, it was not his least favorite either. He chose to enjoy as much as possible whatever weather he came across (though this philosophy only existed in his mind were he in an incredibly good mood). Lilo's bag was slung over his shoulder, almost as wet as he was.

"Well, here I am," Clopin proclaimed to no one in particular (especially if one were to consider the fact that there was nobody there). He wondered where Lilo was. He had expected to catch up with her on his way to the church, though he supposed that he could attribute his failure at this to the obvious hurry that she and her little pet had been in. He decided that she was probably somewhere in Notre Dame, keeping dry, or perhaps talking to Quasimodo.

"I might as well give it to her, other than wait out here," he suggested to himself. He made his way up the steps to the doors, and extended a gloved hand to the cool curve of the handles. He pulled open the door slightly, and poked his head inside, choosing to be discreet in his actions. He knew well the reactions of churchgoing folk to people that looked like him.

The scene before him was a somber one, as expected, the great hall lit up with sconces that lined the walls, their candles aflame. People were scattered about the inside, probably praying, though there were a few that lingered near the front, ignoring Clopin's presence, who spoke amongst themselves. Though church was decidedly not a place for gossip, there was something, it seemed, that had jarred this small group quite a bit.

"That dreaded hunchback," Clopin heard one mutter unhappily. "You saw him, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course," another replied.

"How dare he come down in such a manner," the first continued. "He had absolutely no regard for whomever was downstairs. Then running to the door as if he were going to chance a visit outside!"

"He wouldn't dare, would he?" the other questioned, sounding somewhat worried by the prospect. "Think of what might happen to the pregnant women... it would be a dreadful thing."

"Don't worry," the first began. "He wouldn't do it, not with Frollo watching him. He wouldn't dare. He can't deny his master's commands."

Clopin listened quietly to the conversation, a frown coming across his face. He had a strange feeling that Lilo wasn't there. He didn't know it solidly; he hadn't searched throughout the whole of the cathedral, calling out her name, nor had he asked anyone in Notre Dame whether or not they had seen a little dark-skinned girl wandering about. It was only an odd little suspicion brought about by this slight conversation, but it left Clopin with an unexplainable feeling of utter dread.

The Gypsy king pulled his head from between the door and its jamb, gently closing the great entrance shut. He pursed his lips, the inexplicable uncertainty clinging steadfastly to his mind. If Lilo was not there in the Cathedral, which is a thing he was quite sure of whether it was evidenced or not, where could she be? There was little sanctuary for a young girl like her during a rainy day in Paris, other than, he thought, Notre Dame or the Court of Miracles.

_She couldn't be in the Court of Miracles,_ Clopin thought uneasily. _Otherwise, I would have passed her on my way here..._

The Gypsy let out a long sigh, watching the cold haze of his breath waft upward into oblivion. If Lilo was not in one of these safe shelters, there were few places elsewhere she might find herself, the majority of them unpleasant, especially for Gypsies. Or, in her case, someone who looks amazingly like one. Yes, he knew what she wasn't, though what she was still remained something of a mystery for the intuitive king. He had had his doubts about her supposed heritage since he had first discovered her, after all, and her ignorance toward the important Gypsy talisman was the detail that clinched his suspicions. But others, mainly the Parisian guards that patrolled the streets doing Frollo's dirty work, may not be so perceptive. Lilo could be in dire danger at that very moment!

"That poor girl," he muttered unhappily, shaking his head at the mere notion. "There's more than just a little chance that Frollo's captured her; those guards have no mercy for dark skin." The king tugged the brim of his hat downward, realizing now the importance of keeping dry in weather such as this, though one could argue that it was a little too late for this action. It was not usual for Clopin to become so grave, or at least it wasn't usual for him to show it so freely. He looked toward the distance, where, just visible above the towering roofs of the surrounding houses, peeked the pointed spires of the Palace of Justice, a place that evoked thoughts of torture and death.

"Lilo," he whispered, taking the few steps down to the paved square. "I hope that you haven't been given that fate."

Clopin walked down a side street to avoid the unsettling view of Frollo's domain, worrying and wondering over Lilo's current condition.

_She's just a little girl,_ he told himself at length, interrupting the disturbing ideas that her disappearance suggested. _And, one that you don't know well enough to care in such a way. You should be worrying about your caravan, about your people, not some poor child who'd lost her way._

"I understand that," Clopin answered, nodding his head. "But, the problem is that I've got her bag with me, and it would be a terrible day with my conscience if I were to keep it!"

_You idiot Gypsy! _His mind screamed brusquely. _You haven't a conscience at all!_

"Of course I do!" he retorted. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be as poor as we are! Don't you think?"

_I am thought, the essence of it! _The reply came almost snappishly. _And you haven't a conscience. You just don't fancy a jail cell or a noose about your neck, you idiot!_

Clopin scoffed his own thoughts, waving them away with one gloved hand. "Oh, don't be ridiculous you silly... dog?"

Clopin stopped suddenly, lifting the brim of his hat with a thumb. Sitting disconsolately in the center of the street with his back to the approaching king was Lilo's blue pet. He wasn't moving, he wasn't barking, or whatever it was that he did. He just sat there, his short coat taking in the falling rain.

"Dog?" Clopin repeated, making a hesitant move forward. The creature turned his head toward the noise, a look of extreme helplessness mirrored noticeably in his beetle-black eyes. "It is you!" Clopin proclaimed, getting to his knees so that he and the dog were almost at eye level. "Tell me, where is Lilo? Where is your mistress?"

The dog seemed to start at the mention of the name, and it turned its whole body round to face Clopin. The man noticed something like a silver chain hanging from one shaking claw. Clopin jumped at the sight. He had seen Lilo wearing that the night before...

"She's gone, isn't she?" he asked quietly, shaking his head in disbelief. Stitch's gaze remained upon the Gypsy for a long while, then his eyes turned downward, as if acknowledging silently his statement as truth. The dog lifted his arm upward, looking down at a bracelet of his own, practically identical to the one that he held in his other hand. Clopin felt a rueful sadness in his chest. _Oh well,_ thought he, trying to diminish the painful feeling in his heart, _I didn't know her that well anyway._

"You have to help Lilo!"

Clopin turned abruptly to face the direction that the voice had come from. The dog stood quietly before him, a look of desperate determination taking his face. He stood on his hind legs, his hands clutched into angry fists.

"What?" Clopin demanded, furrowing his brow in utter confusion. He could have sworn that he had just heard the dog speak...

"Lilo!" the creature exclaimed, his teeth clenched tightly, as if it were a hard thing for it to impose such a request upon him. "You have to help Lilo!"

"Me?" Clopin asked, the shock of the talking dog moving swiftly to realize his command.

"Yes!" the dog replied quickly. It glanced back down at the bracelet and let out a disconsolate growl. "Stitch only has a minute left," it said, scowling at the information. It raised its head back to Clopin. "You have to save Lilo! The guards took her; you have to get her back!"

"Me?" Clopin repeated, not quite grasping the idea.

"Yes!" Stitch echoed, an irritation and desperation evident in his unusual voice.

"If the guards took her, then that means she's at the Palace of Justice," Clopin muttered, furrowing his brow. He gave Stitch a strange look. "If she's at the Palace of Justice, then that would mean that you're asking me to go there as well?"

"Yes!" Stitch exclaimed, nodding and taking another glance at his bracelet. Another anxious growl.

"And if I go to the Palace of Justice," the king began again, "then that means suicide!"

"Ye—" Stitch paused, thinking for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. "No!" he looked back at his watch. "Lilo!" he growled, grabbing his hair unhappily. "No, no!" He looked back up at Clopin, who was obviously unsure about doing the whole thing. In a fit of sudden anger, he grabbed the Gypsy by the collar of his cowl. "Look! Lilo needs help. Stitch can't help her right now. Stitch will try to get back. Which means King will have to get Lilo in Stitch's place, until he gets back! King has to save Lilo!"

"But I..." Clopin began. He was obviously ready to argue his way out of such a responsibility.

Stitch growled, interrupting the man's reason. "Give this to Lilo!" he said, cramming the bracelet into Clopin's fist. "Put it on for her!"

"But I..."

"Do it!" Stitch exclaimed, shaking his head. "Stitch thought you liked Lilo. What are you anyway, good guy or bad gu—"

With a sudden explosion of light, Stitch disappeared, and Clopin was left with a ruined cowl and a bracelet, not to mention more than a little uncertainty toward whatever it was that he was going to have to do.

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"Let me go! Let me go! I didn't do anything! Why are you doing this? I don't want to be here! Let me go!"

The two guards ignored Lilo quietly, dragging her further into the dark recesses of the frightening edifice. She had begun fighting again. She hadn't struggled beforehand, refusing to make even the most rebellious squeak of noise as they dragged her away from her unconscious pet. They had taken her a long way, traveling along the labyrinthine paths that ran across Paris, and she had not paid any heed to it. She had done nothing other than walk alongside them, sometimes allowing them to drag her along, her feet bumping unceremoniously against the dampened cobblestones. Lilo had been too preoccupied with her own self-degrading thoughts, each passing contemplation chastising her for her stupidity. How could she have let this happen? She let her whole Ohana down...

It seemed she would accept whatever fate these guards had in store for her; she didn't deserve anything else. It hurt to think that she could make Quasimodo feel so sad... she had been so close! But she couldn't even open up the door and run up a few steps... she couldn't keep a single promise.

But then, in her view, came the incomparable vision of the Palace of Justice, its sharp spires striking the air above it almost threateningly. The flight of stairs that led up to the doors seemed to her the path to hell. The place gave her a bad vibe, a very bad one. She felt that whatever future she might have in this place would not be a pleasant one. And, as expected from her, she dropped the surrendering thoughts that had taken her mind, and began fighting. She attacked the men in whatever way that she could manage. She kicked them several times, but their pants seemed to be thick enough to soften the blows and did little toward her escape. She had even attempted biting the fellows, but the two were somehow smart enough to move their hands away from her mouth the moment she had thought of it. So, she had resorted to screaming. Reasoning peppered her dialogue every now and then, but most of it seemed naught more than demanding shrieks. It mattered little, anyway. The guards seemed to ignore both easily. The only difference one might point out was that the guards were considerably more annoyed by the demands than by the explanations.

"Let go of me!" Lilo exclaimed again, squirming disobediently against their vice-like grips. The two yet again acted as if she hadn't even opened her mouth and pulled her into a room that existed just beyond a set of bars, dark, damp, and just reeking with unusual smells. Lilo stopped for a moment, struck mute by the intense pungency of the scene.

One of the guards took this opportunity to speak. "Look around, gypsy," he said, gesturing with his free hand the room that they stood in. "This is going to be your home for a while."

Lilo's eyes widened at the information and her struggling restarted, intensified by her obvious discomfort in the area. "No!" she screamed, trying to break free. "No, you can't do this!"

"Of course we can," the second guard said, one corner of his lips curling into a sadistic smirk.

"Why?" Lilo demanded, her voice becoming horse. "Why? I didn't do anything! You can't do this to m—"

Lilo's sentence remained incomplete, both guards deciding to release her from their grip at that moment. They tossed her unceremoniously into the cobwebbed corner of the cell, where she bumped her head painfully against the rough stones that formed the prison. She let out a wounded yelp, and her thoughts were momentarily jarred. Her eyes shut suddenly for the soreness, and she heard only the sharp, grating squeal of the bars as they came to a close. Lilo shook her head of the pain and made her way to the bars, grabbing the metal poles in her tiny hands. The guards had left immediately after closing the cell. There was no one there... no one to help her, no one for her to scream at...no one. Lilo fell onto the floor, near a pile of hay that would serve from then on as her bed. She was now officially a prisoner in the Palace of Justice.

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**A/N: Okay! That was it, the twenty first chapter! Frollo reappears in the next one, so hold on until it comes up!I think that, because it's summer, maybe I should make a schedule for my writing and updating. What do you think? Oh yeah, and I'm thinking of rewriting the first three chapters, because in the past year, they seem to be the ones that people complain most about... what do you think about that? I'm almost afraid that if I change the first three, then I'll be forcing myself to rewrite the whole story because of the change in my writing style... I don't know...**

**Funfact #Who knows what: The Hawaiian and the Hunchback was so close to me that I was trying to make a graphic novel based on it for a while. I did all the character designs and everything, and the plot began changing a lot, but after a while I was unsure whether or not people would actually want to read something like it. The plot was pretty much about a fourteen year old girl, whose parents died because of a disease that she had been carrying. Because of her unusually strong immune system, she hadn't been affected by it, but her parents had contracted it and died. She was forced to live with her cousin Lela (Yes,I was SO uncreative with the names) and her Aunt and Uncle... whose names were just Auntie and Uncle as far as anyone knew. She has to go to a new school, where people somehow learn about her parents' deaths and its cause and treat Naomi as if one touch by her and you'd die. It isn't long before the impression becomes so deepset in her mind, that Naomi starts believing it. I'll say more about it later... now for last chapter's funfact...**

**While Hawaiian and the Hunchback was being written, I had another Disney crossover bit in my head. It was a mass crossover, incorporating practically every Disney animated movie... but it was also AU. It was a sort of "mondern city" type of thing... It followed the lives of three characters: Belle, from Beauty and the Beast; Jim, from Treasure Planet; and Quasimodo, named Casey Frollo, from Hunchback. It took place in a city called Sindey, where mayoral elections were beginning, the two main candidates, E. DeChateaupers and C. Frollo. Belle was one of her assistants. Jim was a troubled brooding young man who was dealing with a bad reputation, hassles from hisschool (mainly one teacher,Mr. C. T.), and a crush on his best friend, Nani. Casey is foster son of the curren mayor who has to deal with his fellow classmates, whose parents disagree with the mayor, and so, sadly, disagrees with his son. In the story he was only ten... I decided not to do the story because I realized the unpopularity of crossovers, especially AU ones. It is a story that I very much like, but my problem was if others would like it too.**


	22. Questions without answers

**Author's Note: Hey, y'all, it's been a long while, hasn't it? Believe it or not, I've been trying for forever to get the right wording on this story, and, I think, this is the longest chapter I've had so far. i don't know why I decided to make it so, but it is! Frollo's in it, but only breifly, but, hey, he's in it right? Read and Review!

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It was rainy in Hawaii, the dark grey clouds having come overnight to the chain of islands, a strange bout of weather against the recent history of sunny days. What it meant, nobody knew, but some foreboding could be felt in its sudden chill. The rain seemed to mark the day as a day of possibilities, of quaint happenings, a day of action.

And yet, so far, nothing too out of the ordinary seemed to occur that day. No strange appearances, no shady people, not even an unrecognized noise or anything of that sort. Not yet anyway.

Until, suddenly, accompanied with a flash of near blinding light, a single house, sitting near the edge of an incline, seemed to explode with noise. It was a loud humming, an uncomfortable buzz of mechanics and other unknown things, one that spread out far from its source. What it signified, none out of the household knew, and not even all in the painted dwelling understood it. But, before too much alarm was aroused, the sound died out as well as the blinding light... and it took all the electricity in town with it.

Past the town, if one ignored the rain and the sudden outburst of noise evoked by the unexpected blackout, into the attic of that peculiar house through the broken upstairs window, one would see a number of strange things. Gears and springs and other such things were littered about the place, which was at the moment illuminated only by the bare light that broke through the dark clouds without. Further on a cubicle could be seen, attached by a number of cords and wires to outlets and several different pieces of machinery that stood just feet nearby. Beyond that was little more than boxes.

Stitch sat on the floor of the Dimension Hopper's compartment, groaning disconcertedly. He was dizzy; he had guessed at the time of his departure that the transmitter would have sent him home soon enough, and yet the exit was so sudden and unexpected he hadn't time to prepare himself for the travel. The trip, though quick, was never really that much fun; he had exerted quite a bit of energy the first time around, and he was ready enough then because of Jumba's warning. But this instance... Stitch felt sick.

It was almost silent in that compartment; little could be heard besides the muffled tones of the falling rain. But some strange incessant buzzing seemed to linger in the experiment's ears, and it nearly drove him mad. It was a strange feeling; he hadn't felt so uncomfortable when he had been transmitted over to Paris. There must've been some strange malfunction in the computer this time. He could tell. It was very dark.

Slowly, the buzzing disappeared, replaced by the creak and strain of the old attic steps being climbed. Stitch's ears perked up at the noise, which arrived with a murmur of incomprehensible speech that the experiment strained to discern. It was only a short time later when the voices became familiar and understandable, and it was obvious that there was more than one person coming up into the attic. Stitch listened closely to the first voice, which was rumbling as its owner came up.

"—and is causing black out... too much energy, I am thinking. The Dimension Hopper has been on, after all, for three days straight. Is understandable, eh?"

"I guess so," replied another voice, high-pitched and worried. "But what about Stitch? What will happen to him if the machine is out?"

"Do not be worrying, my little one-eyed friend," the first assured the other loudly. Stitch could hear the rustle of clothing, and several quiet thuds, as if the first were patting the second on the back. "Is seeming that 626's time to come back is being a little bit before blackout. He should be back."

"Then where is he?" the second asked unsurely. Stitch lifted his head up to the small glass window that was cut into the cubicle. He saw the excitable Pleakley looking around the dark room with a strange quick jerk of his head. Beside him, Jumba stood with a flashlight, beaming it around as if in search, and... Stitch stiffened at the sight. Standing behind both of them, clutching herself, seemingly hoping for warmth, was Nani. She looked weary, her face, usually smooth and beautiful, was lined slightly by worry, her cheeks hollowed, though almost unnoticeably. The experiment gulped unhappily. The situation had suddenly become uncomfortable for him.

Suddenly, the light came across the window that Stitch's was watching them through; the experiment blinked in discomfort.

"626?" Jumba asked, the outline of his bulky form just evident beyond the bright orange illumination of the flashlight. "Is that you?"

Stitch took a deep breath, shielding his eyes from the brilliance, and kicked the door to the Dimension Hopper's compartment open. It swung violently on its hinges, knocking the side of the cubicle hard, just barely keeping itself intact. Stitch stepped out of the small compartment, his legs wobbling slightly from the remaining dizziness, and he stared up at Jumba, muttering the word "Ih" in reply before collapsing onto the attic's floor. He sat there quietly, staring down at the floorboards in discomfort, realizing the questioning stares that the others in the room cast him. A silence ensued, Stitch not very keen upon discussing his travels so soon after his return, the pitter-patter of the descending rain creating a strange and ominous backdrop to the uncertainty within.

"Well?" Jumba asked, breaking the silence that had threatened to continue for too long. "What happened?"

Stitch turned his head upward to stare at his creator, a frown apparent upon his wide face. Stitch felt a sort of annoyance at having been asked that question. He wasn't angry at the scientist for inquiring upon his experience; it was a point of interest amongst everyone in the room, he supposed. It was, after all, meant to be a rescue mission, designed to hopefully retrieve a person that meant a lot to everyone that stood in the draft of the old attic. But he couldn't answer it. Not happily, at least. There was no way he could figure, no response he could concoct that wouldn't further his 'ohana's misery.

"Stitch found Lilo," he said at length, speaking in his native tongue, a language that only he and his master Jumba could understand.

A smile appeared on the scientist's face for a second, but was soon diminished when he realized the look on his creation's face. "Where is she, then?" he inquired, looking at Stitch closely, as if he were attempting to figure the answer before the experiment could speak.

Stitch closed his eyes, looking down again in hopes of finding the correct words within. "Not here," he said at length, a brief, but bleak answer to Jumba's unhappy question.

"But you found her," the alien said, as if attempting to point out the good in Stitch's search.

"You found Lilo?"

Stitch jerked his head toward Nani, who had been the last to speak, and who now approached the blue creature in a hopeful way. Stitch watched her without replying. What was he supposed to say?

The young woman looked down at her sister's pet, awaiting an answer to her question. But he remained silent; it didn't seem he wanted to speak. There was something unsettling about that sort of behavior, something that Nani didn't appreciate experiencing. She made her way to stand directly before Stitch, then moved downward to kneel before him, trying her best to look him in the eye.

"Stitch?" she muttered his name, but received no response. "Stitch, look at me." Her tone was gentle enough, but there was a small twitch of desperation, just barely obvious as a tremor in her voice. The experiment listened sadly to her as she spoke, but did not comply with any of her orders.

Nani's mouth tightened into a line, her face stretched tight. She was trying her best not to cry, not in front of them. Not when there was some hope left to rescue her sister.

"Stitch," she repeated, taking his head by both of her hands and turning him to face her. The experiment, though against having to confront Nani, did not fight her. The two looked upon each other, one searching the other for answers, the other trying to answer without words.

Stitch had not said anything. He spoke freely only to Jumba, because nobody else understood his speech. He was trying to hide something from her; Nani could feel it deep within, a cold and unhappy feeling. But, she was not going to surrender to hopelessness just yet. He had said that he had found her, didn't he? Jumba had said that Stitch had found her, or at least, he was trying to verify it. So, what was Stitch trying to hide?

Finally, Stitch seemed to want to speak. He opened his mouth quietly, and Nani waited for him to answer, her heart pounding anxiously in her chest. But, instead of replying to her question, the experiment turned once again to his creator, and muttered to him something that sounded almost like a question.

"We were having no choice," Jumba said in reply to Stitch's unknown inquiry. "If you were seeing her, 626, you would understand."

Stitch asked something else, his expression looking somewhat betrayed.

Jumba nodded as he replied, "Yes, 626. Everything."

The experiment frowned, looking down, staring unsurely at Nani's shaking hands, which had not yet left his cheek. They had told her everything. Everything, starting from Lilo's disappearance to the steps that Stitch had been taking in an effort to finding her. She didn't seem every angry at them. Perhaps she was just too worried about her sister to be angry. Maybe she was hoping so desperately that Lilo would come back with him that Nani had forgotten that it was their fault in the first place that she was gone. But still... it couldn't help but anger him. Why did they tell her? Why? Wasn't she the reason that Lilo had left? Wasn't she the reason that he had been only allowed to stay in Paris for three days? Wasn't she the reason that he couldn't save Lilo?

Stitch clenched his teeth in anger. She shouldn't be in on this, she shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be asking him questions, or making him guilty. Nani... she had called the police. She had almost foiled their plans for saving Lilo. Why was she here?

"Don't be angry with her, Stitch." Pleakley stepped forward, speaking to Stitch for the first time since his arrival. The experiment jerked his head in the cyclop's direction, his eyes narrowed irately. How dare he protect that woman! After all that she's done...

"You knew everything, Stitch," the ex-agent continued, ignoring the stare, exuding a sort of serious maturity that Stitch hadn't thought Pleakley capable of. "I know you were sad, but at least you knew everything from the time it started. Think about Nani. Think of how she felt, feeling sad too, but not knowing what had happened, or what could be done to save her sister. Think of it."

Stitch blinked uncertainly. It was strange, listening to Pleakley talking like this, acting more adult than he had ever before. It was true that the skinny alien was usually the voice of reason in the group, if that was the way to describe it. Or at least the voice that stood in the background complaining about Jumba and Stitch's occasional illegal activity (though usually minor offenses), and its effect on Lilo's character. He was usually a panicky alien, aware of all the rules and adult in only the wish and ability to abide them. But now, there was a strange understanding in his voice, one that was patient, one that resembled the serenity that a real aunt, an identity that Pleakley had been so far unsuccessful in copying, would own. Stitch slowly began realizing Nani's uncertainty and deprivation for the past days, and understood, finally, what Pleakley had meant.

"Stitch," Nani began again, sadness becoming more and more evident in her voice and expression. "Please, Stitch, tell me. Did you find Lilo?"

Stitch soughed harshly, then turned to Nani, finally read to answer. "Ih," he replied with a nod. "Stitch found Lilo."

Nani let out a seemingly happy sob, and she fell forward, a relieved but subtle smile appearing on her pretty face. Stitch watched her quietly, slightly better-off, but nonetheless feeling a sort of sinking in his chest. He could guess her next question, and he knew, with a strong sorrow on his part, how his response would affect her. He wouldn't lie to her; he couldn't lie to her. He would answer truthfully. And, she would get hurt.

"Where is she?"

Stitch blinked uncertainly. He had been right after all. He once again looked away from Nani's expectant face, and once again she forced him to look upon her. She repeated her question, her hands slipping onto his shoulders.

"Where is she?" Nani asked this, the fear in her voice now blatant, knowing that Stitch's lack of a reply meant something significant. Her grip on his shoulders intensified, and Stitch felt a vague discomfort in his upper arms. She wasn't strong enough to harm him too much in that way... at least, not physically. She was doing a very good job other ways.

"Lilo..." Stitch muttered, biting his lip as if trying to keep himself from replying.

"Yes?" Nani asked, her eyes wide and begging.

"Lilo is not here," Stitch said slowly, laboring hard to explain himself with his limited English.

Nani looked shocked. "But... but you said—"

"Stitch found her," he agreed, nodding his head. "But... I could not get her."

Nani shook her head in disbelief, her eyes wide with distress. "No... No! This doesn't make any sense! You found her, didn't you? You found her!" She shook Stitch violently by the shoulders, her tears glazing wet with tears. "Please, Stitch, please! Tell me you found her!"

Stitch shook his head sadly and looked away. Nani watched this quietly, muttering denials beneath her breath, far from ready to accept this news. "She's not here..." she whispered, her hands dropping from Stitch's shoulders, falling to clutch her knees tightly. "She's gone... No! Not again, Lilo, not again!" She screamed, her face twisted with both anger and hopelessness, expending all her strength into a defiant "NO!" before dropping her face to her chest. Her hair hid her face like a funeral shroud, and the room went silent, Nani's surrender punctuated dramatically by the flash and crash of thunder and lightning from outside.

The whole room had gone silent. Stitch remained standing before Nani, his face still turned away, not wanting to look upon her in such a piteous state. He would not believe that Nani, the Nani, stern but friendly, could exist in such a fashion. He did not want or wish to ever see her act so desperately. He had wished never to see it again, after Lilo had been first taken away.

Then, slowly, the silence moved away, the soft but depressing tones of miserable sobs gradually becoming heard. Stitch twitched uncomfortably. He didn't like the situation.

"Oh dear," Pleakley muttered. Stitch watched him as he made his way to Nani's side and knelt beside her, patting her consolingly on the back. He was twisting his mouth unsurely, as if wondering what it was that he was trying to say, but, for the first time since the experiment had met the alien, he was at a silent loss for words. Stitch stared at Nani, for a long while, regarding her for a long while, noticing every tear that fell from her cheeks. It took less than a moment for that twinge of guilt and hopelessness to appear.

Nani was crying. It was just then that he realized it fully. She was crying; she had given up. She had given up on Lilo ever coming back. But... she couldn't have given up... not Nani, not Lilo's older sister. Life wasn't always patient with the strange little family, and the demands that were to be faced seemed to rise in difficulty every day. But, Nani was always there, persevering despite hardships, raising Lilo, dealing with Stitch and the rest of the alien outcasts whenever they screwed up (which was, sad to say, oftentimes the situation). She was young; had she been more fortunate, she wouldn't have to face these problems. But she did. And she got through them. But now... to look upon her, crying on the floor, hopeless... what was that saying? What was Stitch supposed to think after this? How could she give up?

Stitch turned away again, looking past the bewildered form of Jumba, off to where the Dimension Hopper and its compartment stood, temporarily disabled. He would not be able to go back. At least, not until the power went back up. Lilo was on her own for now, or at least until Clopin saved her from the guards. Stitch's ears perked, suddenly remembering the Gypsy king, whom he had assigned just minutes earlier the task of retrieving Lilo in his place. Perhaps there was some hope after all for Lilo to come back unharmed. If Clopin saved her and protected her, she could come back! But... they would still need to use the Dimension Hopper to retrieve her, wouldn't they? It was still a dilemma; if the machine was off, how could she get home?

But, at least for the time being, he hoped that Clopin was doing his best to get Lilo back. Even if she couldn't be home, Stitch wanted her to be safe.

"King," Stitch muttered, looking out the cracked attic window. "You better be saving her."

Clopin Trouillefou sat, now wearing dry clothes, on the bumpy floor of the Court of Miracles, cleaning one fingernail with the tip of his dagger. He leant against one of his wagon wheels, whistling gaily, his legs crossed before him, seemingly carefree at the moment. Nobody took notice to him; Matthias wasn't even bothering him at the moment, though the old Gypsy had seemed to want to argue over the king's supposed proving of his dog theory. He had, finally, a time to sit alone and to contemplate whatever it was that the Gypsy might consider contemplating. This, at the moment, seemed little more than a clean nail.

He hadn't expected anyone in his domain to suspect anything out of the usual with him that afternoon. If one knew him well enough, though, they would realize that, when the man pulled his brim down low, there was something very serious on his mind. And, at the moment, it seemed that Clopin had tugged his hat so hard that one could not even see his prominent nose. But, it appeared that only one person in the whole of the court realized that, and, sadly for Clopin, she felt rather intent on finding out what it was that was on his mind.

"What happened?"

Clopin glanced up from his finger to the figure that stood before him with her hands on her hips, frowning. He smiled quietly, then returned to his finger acting almost as if she weren't there. She was just about to speak again when he acknowledged her.

"Why, my dear Esmeralda," he greeted, lifting his brim up slightly with his thumb, as if trying to relinquish some of her suspicion. "Whatever are you talking about?" he asked her. He spoke genially, but it was apparent that he was not keen upon answering her question.

Esmeralda would take none of this, ignoring his inquiry and repeating her own steadfastly. "I mean it," she added, making it evident to her leader that she was serious upon the matter. She would not be very happy if he attempted to skirt around it again.

"What happened? What happened where? What happened when?" he said. Esmeralda kept her stance. She knew what he was trying to do, and he was not going to confuse her with his nonsensicality. "Clopi-i-i-i-in," she muttered, stretching the end of his name, noting her annoyance.

"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-s?" the man said, mimicking her without even looking up from his hand.

"Clopin!"

"My dear, Esmeralda, no need to be so forceful!" Clopin exclaimed. A grin twitched on his lips. "Not here or now, at least. Now, if you'll answer my previous question...s... What happened where, when, and all that?"

"I mean what happened today," she informed him, her hands moving to cross against her chest. "What happened today with the little girl?"

Clopin was silent for a short moment, as if devising an answer, then replied easily, "She left, obviously."

"After she left," the young woman specified.

"After she left?"

"Yes, Clopin, after she left!" Esmeralda seemed to be losing patience with her king. "What happened _after she left_?"

"Well, how would I know, mademoiselle?" he asked, giving her a look that suggested he thought her stupid. "She left!"

"You went after her, Clopin," Esmeralda reminded him. "Don't think that I didn't see you."

"Oh, I didn't do anything untoward to her!" Clopin told her, sheathing his dagger. "It was just to return her bag! That's that!"

"Then why didn't you?" she asked. Esmeralda gestured behind Clopin, where, sure enough, Lilo's yellow bag sat, imprisoned behind the numerous spokes of the Gypsy king's wagon wheel. The king stared at the sack for a long while, as if trying to work out some sort of excuse toward its existence. Esmeralda watched him as he gazed at it silently, awaiting the answer that he was not doing well on giving.

When it seemed that Clopin would not answer at all, Esmeralda decided to track back to her earlier question. "What happened today with the little girl, Clopin?"

"Nothing happened today with the little girl, Esmeralda," he answered, his attention still set resolutely upon the bag.

"Something happened today with the little girl," Esmeralda corrected him. "Otherwise you wouldn't be acting like this."

"Oh, don't be like that!" Clopin told her, shaking a gloved finger at her without turning round. "You know I'm always exasperating; don't try to make something of it."

"You're not only exasperating today, Clopin," Esmeralda said, a small portion of the annoyed tone disappearing for a small moment. "You're also worried. Something's wrong. I can tell. What happened today with the little girl?"

"I already told you, Esmeralda," Clopin snapped, the carefree feel in his voice slowly melting away by heated irritation. "Nothing happened today with the little girl! Nothing, at least, to do with me, alright? Now, if you don't mind, I'd quite like to come up with an excuse for the bag being here and then continue with my manicure. So, might you leave me be?"

Esmeralda noted the sarcasm in his voice, a typical thing, but this moment he didn't seem happy to be using it. He was irritated by something, most obviously her continued inquiries upon the Lilo. _Something must have happened_, she decided. _He's worried... it's so obvious he's worried. But why won't he tell me? Is he ashamed?_

"Clopin, please," Esmeralda said softly, thinking that maybe it would be best to be polite. "I need to know. What happened to the little girl?"

"She told me to safe keep it!" Clopin exclaimed, jumping to his feet as if he had discovered something of vast importance. He turned round, a smile, partially forced, shining on his face. "_That _is why I still have her bag!"

Esmeralda felt almost like giving up. He seemed steadfast on ignoring her question, or at least lying to her about it. Were it someone else, she would've left long before this point. But, this was Clopin she was dealing with. It seldom came about when his worry was so evident, for few things seemed to cause him disquiet. Few knew the worrier side of their king; the carefree and night idiotic attitude that he displayed most of the time seemed inbred and was undoubtedly the most suitable expression that the man could harness. Whatever he was striving so hard to conceal from her must be a matter of great importance. She needed to know, if not for safety's sake, then for the sake of pure curiosity.

"Something bad happened," she asked softly, walking to Clopin. "Didn't it?"

Clopin frowned, tugged down his brim yet again, then returned to his place by the wagon wheel. "You ignored my excuse," was all that he muttered.

A small smile flitted across Esmeralda's face as she realized her accuracy, but it disappeared soon enough. She knelt down and looked at him with a serious look. "What happened?"

Clopin seemed to stiffen at the familiar inquiry, but instead of exploding at her, as it seemed he was planning to do, he let out a tired sigh. "Why are you so interested in the little girl, my dear?" he asked Esmeralda wearily, looking at his newly manicured fingers. "She isn't even a Gypsy. Why should we bother with her...?"

Esmeralda looked at her leader curiously, supposing that, hidden beneath the question, was something more.

Clopin continued without an answer from the young woman. "She is very small, though, isn't she? She's young, so full of life... Is that a reason to care about her welfare? Is it a duty of ours, as adults, to care for her, because she is so young?"

"Clopin," Esmeralda muttered. She didn't completely understand what he was talking about, but it appeared to her that he was dealing with something inside. She couldn't provide answers for his questions, only because she wasn't sure entirely how she was supposed to answer them. She didn't know against what situation they were being asked.

"If it is our duty, isn't it unfair?" he asked, staring out into the square, where his people worked and played, lived and laughed. "Doesn't everyone need care? If it is my duty to protect the little girl, then why didn't I protect the rest of them? If I get her now, would it be wrong to have left so many before her, fellow Gypsies unlike herself, to suffer? To die?"

Esmeralda felt uncomfortable listening to Clopin; his solemn expression was frightening, his conflicted thoughts making her uneasy. Whatever he was dealing with, it seemed a monster of a problem, something that she was only lucky to never have encountered. She perused his face quietly. He seemed so much older now, as if he had aged before her eyes. There was a wise aura about him, something that he displaced every time he wore his colorful mask.

"What do I do?"

Esmeralda seemed to jump at the question. He had been silent for a long while, probably contemplating his problem, and now he looked at her almost desperately, seeking an answer to his dilemma. The sound in his voice... it lacked the unwavering strength of the Clopin that she was used to, the mocking hilarity that had seemed before then ever perpetual.

"I don't know, Clopin," Esmeralda answered, lifting a hand to his shoulder. "It's your choice. What are you going to do?"

Clopin let out a deep sigh, and turned upward to the unseen sky above. "I don't know, Esmeralda," he said, biting his lip. "I just don't know."

The sky continued to issue rain in Hawaii, pattering loudly against windows, then sliding quietly out of view. One little girl sat next to these many windows, staring out at the rain-soaked streets without, a bored but thoughtful look upon her bespectacled face. She had little more to do than watch the weather; the whole town was blacked out. She had no television to watch. Reading was never a real hobby of hers (she'd much rather wait until the movie came out than deal with black words on white paper), and doing it while having to hold a flashlight... well, it seemed too much trouble for a stupid story.

And besides... she had a lot on her mind at the moment. Quite a bit on her mind.

Ever since Cobra Bubbles's visit to her school, she had been wracked with guilt. She had only admitted it once after he had left, and it was only in a state of shock that she had claimed that it was "all her fault". Afterward, she had acted as if none of it had taken place, and did her best to act indifferent toward the situation, though her friends seemed pretty shocked about it. Myrtle did not like giving off the impression of ever experiencing guilt, because in turn it would show to her friends that she did wrong. She wanted to be perfect; she wanted to be the best.

But, nevertheless, she knew, deep within herself, that she had been the cause of Lilo's disappearance. She supposed that Lilo had felt bad about the whole cootie deal, and, being the impulsive girl that she was, she had run away. "Well," Myrtle had tried to reassure herself, "it's not my fault that she does stupid things like that."

Myrtle had thought that a life without Lilo would be wonderful. After all, the little girl was a point of more than a little annoyance for her, and tended to get in the way most of the time. But, for one reason or another, it made her incredibly sad, now that she was almost experiencing the sensation full time. She wasn't sure what it was. Maybe she just didn't like that she didn't have anyone to push away like that anymore. But, there was one thing that Myrtle knew about it. It was _very annoying._ She wondered how Lilo's sister was dealing with all this. It must be a lot more annoying than what she was feeling.

Myrtle pushed away from the window and waddled her way down the hall from the living room that she had been sitting in. She walked into the kitchen where her mother, whom she resembled amazingly sans the kind look, read a toy magazine by candlelight.

"Mom?" Myrtle asked, entering the dimly lit room slowly, making sure not to trip over anything that might've been lying on the floor.

The woman looked up from her reading. "Oh, hello, honey!" Myrtle's mother greeted cheerfully, a smile on her face. "I'm just getting ready for your next birthday party. Don't look at what I've circled, dear!" She closed the magazine and sat on it. "It's going to be a surprise. Believe me, honey, you'll _love_ it!"

"Uh... thanks, I guess," Myrtle replied. Her mother wasn't always conventional, but she was kind, and it seemed that she loved to spoil her child. She also seemed to understand a lot of things that Myrtle didn't always get. "Mom?" she asked tentatively, wondering whether or not she should ask what she wanted to ask.

"Yes, honey?"

"If I ran away," she began, standing at her mother's side, "how would you feel?"

"Myrtle, honey, I'd be _devastated!_" She picked her daughter up and sat her on her knee, hugging her protectively. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

"No!" Myrtle answered angrily, pushing away from her mother as if offended. "Of course I wouldn't, I'm not stupid, like Lilo!"

Mrs. Edmonds seemed startled by the proclamation. "Oh, honey... Is that what this is about? I know you feel bad about, Lilo, honey... you shouldn't worry. We're all worried about her. You shouldn't feel as if you're the only one who has to be concerned."

"That's not what I—"

"If you need anything, anything at all, just tell me, honey. I'll make you feel better."

Myrtle was surprised by her mother's words. "Anything?" she asked, wondering whether or not her mother meant it (though usually she did).

Mrs. Edmonds nodded. "Anything."

Myrtle sat on her mother knee, for the first time in a while feeling something of an inner conflict. Would it be right to gain from Lilo's disappearance?

"Can I have ice cream?" Myrtle asked at length, brushing away the guilt with the thought of sugar.

"Of course honey," her mother said, putting Myrtle down on the floor and making her way to the freezer.

The Palace of Justice was a terribly cold place. This, Lilo had learned quickly, as she sat unprotected in her new cell, shivering violently as the frigid temperatures permeated her muumuu. She had tried to warm herself up, burying herself in the stale hay that had been deposited long ago in her prison, but it was only minutely better. She was wet, and she was cold, and it wasn't long before she had begun to feel ill.

She had spent most of her time in the cell crying. It seemed she was doing that more and more these days, and the thought didn't comfort her at all. She had given up fighting for her freedom long ago, having no man nearby to hear her screams, or at least acknowledge them. But, even if they were there, nobody seemed to listen to reason in this place.

"What does it matter anyway?" she had asked no one in particular. "Everyone'd probably be happy that I'm gone. I only cause trouble anyway..."

That was the fate that Lilo had decided upon. It seemed the most appropriate, the most possible... who cared if she disappeared? Who cared if she didn't come back? They'd get over it... then they'd realize that it was good that she was gone.

Nani... Nani wouldn't have to take care of her anymore... she'd be able to spend her time with David as much as she wants and she wouldn't have to worry so much about having a really good job. David would be happy too... Nani wouldn't be busy so much of the time.

Pleakley wouldn't have to clean up all of her messes anymore. Jumba... well, he'd be unhappy about having to find another test subject, but that's probably the only reason he cared about her in anyway.

Quasimodo... no more broken windows, no more broken promises, no more screams from his master.

Stitch...

Lilo felt the tears beginning to fall harder at the thought of him. Stitch... her best friend... he'd come to rescue her, he'd come to bring her back... But he's gone! He was hurt... he had tried to protect her... but she still got dragged away. She didn't try hard enough to save herself, or both of them... he had tried to help her get to Quasimodo, but she couldn't even climb up the steps and open the door... she was useless... a stupid useless girl who only got in the way.

She sniffled miserably. She really was getting sick. She was getting chills, and she could feel a feverish warmth about her neck and forehead. It was beginning to worry her; if she got sick and didn't get proper treatment, there could be serious damage. She learned that a long time ago, when she was younger and she hadn't told her parents what was going on... her parents... it really was a long time ago...

It was relatively quiet in her prison, little more than the constant drip of leaks and the unsettling squeak of passing rats seemed to accompany the darkness. That was why Lilo had been so surprised by the sound of footsteps that seemed to be approaching her cell. She stood up suddenly, disturbing the hay that had enveloped her, clutching her fingers almost protectively around Quasimodo's medallion. She had luckily been able to take it with her into the cell; it seemed that the guards hadn't taken notice to it.

The footsteps gradually became louder, and Lilo knew that somebody was going to make their way by her cell. She remembered her sickness. She needed to tell them what was going on...

"Help!" she screamed, running up to the bars. "Please, help me! Somebody, please!"

She continued to cry out these things, desperation heightening every moment that passed. Lilo could've sworn she felt her neck becoming hotter with a rising fever. She had learned from TV that if her temperature became too high, she might die!

"Please!" she exclaimed as the footsteps sounded very near. "Please, help me!"

Soon enough, she saw a shadow, standing just outside the door of the room that housed her cell. She squinted her eyes. Though she couldn't make out the forms definitely, she was almost sure that there were three figures standing in the darkness staring at her. They had stopped before her cell, watching her quietly, as if waiting.

"Please, help me!" she told it, brushing a hand against her cheek to get rid of a tear. "I think I'm sick."

The figures were silent, continually staring at her, until finally, the form standing in the center made a movement, and the other two moved to stand posts at both sides of the door. It seemed he was the leader.

Lilo felt a strange sort of apprehension as she watched the leader of the pack, who seemed to continue his stare despite his lackey's actions. She felt her skin prickling uneasily. For some reason, this thing, whatever it was, didn't seem very friendly. She regretted having called it. She wanted to tell it to go away, she wanted to scream at it to leave her alone, but for some reason she could not find her voice.

The figure stepped in after a long while, carefully avoiding the flickering light of the torch that was set in the wall just outside Lilo's cell. It turned its head back toward his underlings.

"Close the door," it ordered, and immediately the guards closed an iron door behind their master. Lilo's anxiety rose exponentially at the sound of the figure's voice. It was familiar... an icy tone, silky smooth yet undeniably frigid. She didn't like the voice... she didn't like it at all.

"Ah, I see that you've gotten yourself quite comfortable, haven't you gypsy?" the figure asked mockingly, making his way forward as he spoke. "It suits you, does it not? Dark, dirty, housing the sinful..."

Lilo found her voice for but a second. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking. She felt a chilled shiver shoot through her spine.

The figure let out a laugh that made Lilo shiver ever the more. It was deep and mocking... hurtful, barely human.

"I thought every Gypsy knew my name," he sneered. He made the final steps into the room, the illumination of the torch finally striking his features. Lilo gasped as a wizened face came into view, large wary eyes staring at her from under heavy lids. Its thin lips were twisted into a scoffing smirk, beneath the hook of his large nose.

"Frollo!" Lilo screamed out, a mixture of fear and absolute anger churning deep with her.

Judge Claude Frollo released another cold laugh. "So, I see I was not mistaken."

"What do you want?" the Hawaiian asked, suddenly belligerent. She remembered how the man had treated Quasimodo; she was not going to forgive him easily for that.

Frollo raised an eyebrow at her impudence, his smile disappearing almost suddenly. He enjoyed fear from the Gypsies; to them, he was the grim reaper, the torturer, death and pain personified. To be treated in such a disrespectful manner when they were face to face, especially by someone other than that stupid storytelling jester, was a strange thing. Not to mention that the little Gypsy was already in his clutches; he could easily torture her on a whim.

"What do I want, indeed," Frollo said calmly, taking a small stool at the side of the room and placing it before Lilo, brushing the dust off its surface and sitting on it. "What I want, Gypsy, are answers."

The little girl scowled. "My name is Lilo," she told him angrily. "Stop calling me Gypsy!"

Frollo tented his finger above his mouth, gazing at her from over his hands. Lilo was somewhat taken aback by the bitterness in his stare... everything about this man was cold... his voice, his laugh, his look... if she touched him she wouldn't be surprised if he were as warm as a dead person...

"You were seen trying to get up to the bell tower," the Judge said softly, ignoring what Lilo had said beforehand. "Why?"

Lilo looked at him defiantly. "How is it any of your business?" she asked defiantly, using as much of her self-control as she could to keep herself from calling him a butthead.

"It is my business," the man replied in a quiet yet angry voice, "if a Gypsy is trying to poison my son!" He stood up suddenly, his long black robes shifting about. "Admit it, Gypsy! You are the one who's been lurking up in the bell tower! You're the one who has been tainting my son!"

Lilo felt a sudden and new explosion of anger at these accusations. "I would _never_ do that to Quasimodo!" she shrieked back. "You evil man! You're the one who's hurting him!"

"How dare you, Gypsy!"

"My name is Lilo!" she screamed. "And you _do_ hurt Quasimodo! You yell at him like he's some stupid little boy, but he's not!"

"Silence!" Frollo exclaimed, unhappy at her words.

"He's kind!"

"Silence!"

"He's smart!"

"Do not speak of him as if you know him, Gypsy!"

Lilo was seething. "I know him a lot more than you do, you... you abusive... butthead!"

She screamed the last word with the loudest voice that she could manage, all the anger and frustration that she felt toward him exploding at that single moment. Frollo was taken aback. He had never before heard that word, but he understood its meaning and no prisoner within their right minds had called him such a thing. He scowled at her angrily, his teeth bared like an angry dog.

"Mark me, Gypsy," he said, kicking the stool to the side, "you are going to suffer for this night."

And he turned, making his way back toward the door.

Lilo watched his back as he tried to leave. She was livid... she wanted to hurt him so badly, wanted him to feel what Quasimodo was going through... but most of all... she really wanted to chuck something at him. So, without a thought, she did.

Frollo stopped short at the sudden pain that struck the back of his head, and he turned suddenly, his scowl deep and angry on his thin face. "You—" he began.

But he stopped. Something was glittering upon the floor, the thing, he supposed, that the little girl had thrown at him. He looked at it quietly, examining it as thoroughly as he could from his point above it, and then, slowly and suspiciously, he knelt downward. His fingers hovered above the object, as if frightened that it might burn him, but in the end, he picked it up.

Lilo watched as he stood up once again, staring at the projectile as if it were a familiar thing. She squinted her eyes, trying to discern despite the darkness what it was that she had thrown at him. She had been too angry to realize it...

"Where did you get this?" Frollo demanded suddenly, Lilo noting, for the first time ever, fear in his icy voice. She didn't answer; she couldn't. She didn't know what the object was. Frollo looked at her, his wide-eyed stare becoming crazier. "Answer me, Gypsy, where did you get this?"

"I don't know!" Lilo told him. _Just go away, please_, she thought, the anger slipping away for a sudden fear.

Frollo shook his head and dropped the object back on the floor. "I'll be back," he told her, his statement soft and threatening. He opened the iron door, the hinges creaking loudly as it moved, and he stepped out. Lilo could hear him mumbling orders to the guards, followed by the sounds of footsteps and armor moving away. Lilo listened in silence, waiting until the noise disappeared. Soon enough, she was left with naught more than just the normal dripping and the rat squeaks that she had been dealing with before hand.

Lilo, sure that she was alone now, strained herself to see what it was that Frollo had been so afraid of. The torch only barely illuminated it; she couldn't see it... it was hard to detect on the floor. It was seemingly flat, but that was all that Lilo could surmise. Heaving a sigh, she returned to her hay stack, deciding to attempt sleeping.

As depressed as she was, she was tired. The adrenaline caused by anger was ebbing away and once again the thoughts of her 'ohana were entering her mind. She rubbed her eyes wearily. She hoped Quasimodo wasn't too s—

"Omigosh," she said suddenly, staring down at her empty hands. It was gone. Quasimodo's talisman was gone! Where did she put it? She looked at the haystack, hoping that she would see it lying amongst the disturbed straw. But, no, it wasn't there. It was gone! How did she lose it? Where could it have—?

Lilo's panicking stopped abruptly when a thought entered her mind. She made her way back to the bars and stared again, as hard as she could, at the floor. Her heart skipped a beat. Quasimodo's talisman lay glittering on the prison floor.

So that was what Frollo was frightened of... Lilo tilted her head curiously. She couldn't help but wonder why he had reacted that way. He had known the talisman, she knew he had. She could tell by the look in his eyes... Why...? Could there be something about the medallion that had scared him?

With these questions on her mind, Lilo made her way back to the haystack. She'd have to think it over some other time... right now, she needed sleep.

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**A/N: AND THERE WE ARE! It's going to be a long while before I start writing something THAT long again! Thanks for the reivew, yaarp16, and your reasons. I suppose I really don't have enough time to redo the beginning, and I guess I'd like to keep it as a reminder to my previous writing style. Spaztic Arwen? You really WOULD read the story? Well, alright. I'm writing it now. And, I'm going to abort it if i don't see a review from you, alright::wink: Do it! NOW Y'all REVIEW!**

**Funfact: In the original story, the old captain of the guard was supposed to be on Frollo's last nerve because he dealt with Lilo wrong. This started Frollo's distrust in him, which, in the end, resulted in his being sacked and Phoebus replacing him! I thought of tying in things like that, but I couldn't cram in EVERYTHING.**


	23. Rescue

**Author's Note: Whoa... I updated this story... weird... Now, it's not as long as I wish it were, but hey, it's here, right? I think that I'm going to finish this story up before going on to continue writing Sindey City or anything else. So, in this chapter, Frollo has his own little section to himself. Basically thinking, so sorry all of you who love dialogue so much. I hope there's enough in Lilo's section to suffice! Read and Review!**

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Lilo was finding it harder and harder to cope with her fate.

The hay was beginning to lose its warmth, the small comfort that she drew from its encompassing straws disappearing slowly with the passing seconds.

Lilo had drawn back into the pile after the judge's visit. She had been lost with her thoughts and questions for a long while; the minutes spent wondering were long and uncountable. The same curiosity lingered in her mind. Why had Frollo been so afraid of the pendant when he had seen it? She had seen the look on his face when he lifted the medallion up, the glaring fright that took those wide and shadowed eyes. It was as if he had known what it was, where it had come from. He hated it. Lilo saw it all in his handling of it. But still the question remained. Why?

Lilo had long lingered on this single question, contemplating to the best of her abilities what it was that could've caused such a fear. But she couldn't figure it. It didn't make any sense to her.

But, she had soon discarded the interest for a different realization. She was getting sick. Lilo felt her feet becoming colder, her forehead becoming hotter. Every moment passed with a further weakening sensation. She had tried to sleep, but something in her mind had suddenly awoken a strange sort of gripping fear that told her to stay alert.

Lilo had remembered. Frollo had said that he would come back. His voice had not indicated whether that would happen soon or not, but she could hear the unspoken threat to her life in his icy tone. She could only imagine the horrible tortures that he had in store for her, and the last thing that she could want was for him to come back as she slept. It was better to be alert and half-crazy than to be groggy and resigned.

But soon, the fright became almost unbearable, and Lilo found herself falling into another tearful spell. She felt overwhelmed, haunted by her mistakes, worsened by her sickness. Soon enough, she was yet again chastising herself for her blunders.

"I'm going to be in so much trouble," she sniffed unhappily, feeling her forehead worriedly. "He's going to hurt me bad, I know he is!" She wiped her nose miserably. "Stupid Lilo… you had to mess up everything again… why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?"

From within her head, a sad and guilty voice spoke up to answer. "I just wanted to help Quasimodo," it explained glumly. "Frollo's mean to him. I don't want him to make Quasimodo feel bad again."

Lilo felt another surge of anger and regret at the "words".

"You dummy!" she cried aloud, screaming at the wall as if she could see the voice standing there. "Did you think the butthead would actually listen? It's dumb," she muttered, shivering unhappily. "Now Quasimodo's probably going to be in more trouble. And, I'm going to get hurt…and…and…"

Lilo couldn't make herself continue, and with an interjecting cry, she put her head against her arms and sobbed. She was angry at herself, very angry, but she knew now that she was getting more and more ill. Her forehead was burning against her skin; she could feel a cool sweat begin to trickle all abut her body. It seemed that her sickness was spreading a lot faster now...

"NO!" Lilo screamed, holding her head in her hands. "Stop crying, stop it! You're just making yourself sicker! And they won't help you if you get sick; they don't care…" She nearly choked on these words, realizing once again how much he missed Nani, how much she missed everybody. They would've cared if she was sick; Pleakley and Stitch would've sat with her the whole night, Nani would have made her chicken soup, Jumba would've at least sympathized... but now… who did she have to empathize with her in this dark, forbidding place? "Stop it," she begged, trying to end her tears. "Stop caring, stop it…. Please…"

An unexpected noise punctuated the quieting air, the creak of rusted hinges screeching loudly above Lilo's sobs. She stopped crying almost immediately, her eyes becoming wide with an ever growing fear. Her head lifted, turning slowly toward the door that sat just beyond the bars of her cell, hoping against all hope that maybe the stress was making her crazy, that the unwanted sound did not exist.

Her face paled suddenly at the sight.

The door was wide open, pushed against the mildewing stone wall, and, standing imposingly centered in the entrance was _him. _His long robes flowed about him, brushing against the cold floor, his hands plunging deep into the voluminous sleeves that draped from his thin arms. His head was bowed, his hat concealing his face in further shadow.

Lilo sprang up from her place on the straw pile, pressing herself hard against the back wall. She wanted to be as far away as she possibly could from him; she wouldn't let him take her away.

Frollo seemed to be amused by this action, though Lilo could not see his face, and a slow, malevolent chuckle flowed from his hidden lips. Lilo shivered uneasily at the noise. It had that same calm hostility that he retained in his speech, like an effortless stream of venom.

Lilo shut her eyes. She was not going to cry again.

"Now is the time of judgment, gypsy," he said with a virulent murmur.

Lilo's eyes fluttered open, and she stared uncertainly at the robed figure before her. After a short moment, she took a tentative step in his direction, and then continued down to the bars. She leaned her head against the metal, squinting suspiciously at the unmoving man at the door.

"Mr. Clopin?" she inquired cautiously. "Is that you?"

The figure snapped his fingers loudly, shaking his head. "Oh dear," he said, his voice regaining its strange flutiness, "it appears that I've been discovered."

Lilo's anxiety was dispelled almost immediately, a wide and sudden smile spreading across her round face. She was right!

Clopin tossed off the large, unbecoming hat onto the wooden stool that sat outside of the cell, and, after closing the metal door, he made his way over to where Lilo stood.

"You scared me!" Lilo told him with a chastising frown. She looked him over, adopting a disgusted look. "What are you wearing?"

"I know," Clopin replied dryly, tugging at the white collar as if it were choking him. "Not very stylish, now is it?"

Lilo shook her head vigorously at the question.

"Well, I had no choice," the king told her, letting go of the collar in an unhappily resigned way, "unless I wanted to dress up like a guard… and, if you ask me," he said with sickened grimace, "that's a lot worse."

Clopin looked down at Lilo in a fatherly way, clicking his tongue at her haggard appearance.

"Forgive me if this question sounds stupid," the man began, "but, how are you feeling?"

Lilo's newfound smile fell instantly, and she lifted a hand almost reflexively to her forehead.

"I think I'm sick," she told him anxiously. Her skin was burning.

"Well," Clopin said, flashing her a consoling smile, "that's understandable. This place is horrible, damp, and cold…" He looked about him thoughtfully. "And it needs a touch of color too… which is exactly why I need to get you out of here!"

Lilo's smile reappeared. "You're rescuing me?"

"Of course I am!" Clopin exclaimed grinningly. "What else would I be doing here in Frollo's clothing with keys that I picked off some guard?" He jingled a ring of keys that he pulled out of his sleeves accordingly.

Selecting one key off of the loop, he started trying to open the door.

Lilo watched him from below as he tried key after key on the lock of her cell, happy and grateful that the Gypsy had come to get her. But she couldn't help but wonder how he had known…

"How did you know I was here, anyway?" she asked him curiously.

"You've got your little talking dog to thank for that, my dear. He," Clopin paused and pulled open the cell door with a triumphant grin, gesturing ostentatiously for Lilo to exit. "—is the one who told me about it," he finished. "Or is confronted a better word…? Ah well. Come on now, my dear, now is the time to go!"

With a rush, Clopin hurried to grab the hat he had discarded, and made his way to the metal door that connected the room with the hall. He opened it slowly, doing his best to avoid any noticeable loudness, and then held it, waiting for Lilo to follow.

Lilo hastened out of her cell, making her way anxiously to the costumed man's spot. But, just before reaching him, she paused, glancing at a slight glistening on the stone floor. It was Quasimodo's talisman… Lilo stared at it for a long moment, the questions on Frollo's behavior suddenly resurfacing in her mind. It took an excited whistle from the Gypsy king for Lilo to remember her escape.

With a quick hand, she retrieved the medallion and held it fast. She put it to her heart, promising finally that she would see Quasimodo again, no matter what occurred, and, with a final glance at the golden, engraved sun, she hurried out of the door, followed by her rescuer.

* * *

Frollo would have sworn on his life that the medallion had been lost, that it had been abandoned in the deep and surreptitious shadows that Notre Dame hosted. He remembered snatching it away, throwing it to the unforgiving ages, hiding it from _him_ even before he had the chance to stop crying.

But, there it had been, lying on the floor, and then gripped unsurely by his fingertips. He had seen it with his own eyes, felt it with his own nerves, known it from his own distant memories. It was away from Notre Dame, away from the housed gloom, away from the concealment that he had hoped that it would have experienced forever.

Frollo stared gravely out at the gray city through the narrow windows that broke the stretch of hard stone that made his room. Out across the way, jutting up from the mass of pointed roofs and brick chimneys, he could see the majestic cathedral, its tall, blessed façade staring out into the same metropolis. The judge gazed at it gloomily, his spidery fingers tented before his long, wizened face, his wary eyes shining out above them, suspicious as always.

The girl must have been the one, the gypsy that he had seen lurking on Notre Dame's walkways just a day or so before. He could not know for sure; he had only seen a dark face and a wisp of black hair withdrawing from the parapet. He had ordered his guards to take a post near the cathedral after they had finished searching the bell tower. He had known she would come back. It was a strange feeling of premonition, and his hunch had been right. Though, at first he had thought that they had captured just another Gypsy criminal, trying to claim sanctuary in Notre Dame before they were caught. She was just a child, after all, and far from seeming amazing when he had first seen her from his perch on the Palace's outer catwalk. But when he had met her…

She was loud, whiny; he had frightened her at first, he knew. In her face he saw a fear, but it was unfamiliar in its manner. It was as if she hadn't known him, not the way that most Parisian Gypsies did. But then, that fear had been dismissed, it seemed, and she had become annoyingly audacious. She ignored his questions, demanded he addressed her by that outlandish name of hers. And then…

Frollo grimaced, moving away from the window to stand before the fire that blazed in the hearth. He stared pensively into the mesmerizing flames.

The Gypsy had seemed angry. She had nearly fooled him into believing that she actually cared about his monstrous son, but he had been able to see past it. He knew what she was trying to do… she was trying to scare him, trying to make him reconsider his treatment of the boy… but why? Was there a meaning behind the lies?

No, of course not… She's a Gypsy. There never needs to be a point for their malevolence. Demons are demons, and it's all for the sake of being evil. She knew that he was winning against her attempt… that's why she had thrown the talisman. She knew how he would react.

Frollo let out a tired sigh. The talisman kept running in his mind. Where did she get it? Why did she have it? And, did _he_ know about it?

He had never told him what he was, who he was… never anything past "monster". Frollo had never told him that his mother was a Gypsy… in fact, he said nothing about her other than how she had abandoned him… if he were to know who he was, that vagabond blood was rushing through his veins… would he turn on his master?

The wooden door at the far end of the room opened slowly, the head of the captain of the guard peeking in through the small crack.

"Minister Frollo?" the helmeted soldier began, his voice worried.

The judge felt a surge of anger for his thoughts having been interrupted, but he calmly tucked his fury and contemplation aside for the moment. He turned, his face straight and expectant.

"Yes, Captain?" Frollo looked upon the man imperiously, noting the uncomfortable sweat that trickled down the side of his face.

"When were you last in the cell blocks, sir?" the man asked anxiously.

Frollo raised a brow at the soldier's concern. "Two or three hours ago at the least," he replied sincerely. The man groaned at the answer, as if hating the truth. Frollo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you ask, Captain?"

"Sir, there was an unauthorized visit to the Gypsy girl's cell only a moment ago," he told the judge.

"Well, wasn't it your duty to stop the perpetrator?" Frollo glared at the man piercingly. The man shirked his gaze.

"The guards say that it was you," the captain squeaked. "They had seen you walking down the halls toward the cell. Another guard had been knocked unconscious and found out that his keys were missing…"

Frollo felt a sudden alarm, and pushing past the guard, he hurried out into the hall.

"Come, you idiot," he ordered malignantly, gesturing for the captain to follow. "Gather all your men; order them to block the exit!" His eyes narrowed angrily. "No Gypsy escapes me."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it for now! I enjoyed writing Frollo's part, believe it or not... I suppose I enjoy getting into people's heads... Ah well... It's late/early so, I'll have to be finishing up here. **

**Funfact est delayed. Sorry.**


	24. Escape

**Chapter 24**

"The exit's not too far away," Clopin told Lilo as they walked cautiously down the shadowed halls of the Palace of Justice, the young Hawaiian clinging onto one of his black robe's folds.

Lilo nodded her head in understanding, looking about her with more than a little uncertainty. The first time that she had been led down this path, she had been too preoccupied with fighting to consider what surrounded her. Gloom encompassed both her and the costumed Gypsy king, broken only every ten feet by the flickering dimness of a wall torch. A number of torture devices hung from the high ceilings, a skeleton or two hanging from their painful grips, untouched but for the spiders and rats that wandered about the darkness. Little sounds could be heard in the narrow corridor, the silence once and a while interrupted by the echoing drip of an unknown leak. It was strange and unsettling. Lilo could just imagine the number of unfriendly ghosts that wandered up and down the halls and cells that made up the dungeon, reliving their torture, waiting for their revenge.

The little girl moved closer to Clopin's thin leg, her fingers tightening worriedly about the costume's fabric. The Gypsy looked down on Lilo at the sudden nearness, and a friendly smile split his thin face.

"Don't worry, my little Gyspy-esque girl," he said, patting her genially on the top of her head. "Your favorite Gypsy king will get you out of this place, straight away!"

Lilo smiled weakly, somewhat relieved by his kind words, but not altogether convinced of their trustworthiness. Clopin noted the doubt with an understanding grin.

"So," he began, deciding that conversation would be a good tool to lower her anxiety, "how was your stay here in the infamous depths of hell? Good? Alright? Less-than-enjoyable?"

Lilo gave him a quizzical glance, but the lifted a finger to her lip as if considering an answer. "If that last one means it stunk, then that one," she answered at length.

The king gave out a pleasant laugh. "Yes, I would have expected that…"

Lilo nodded her head, her smile subtle. "I'm just happy that I'm getting out of here," she murmured, glancing at a random cobweb as she passed it by.

"Yes. Going home finally, eh?"

"I guess…"

Lilo wasn't sure if going home was a possibility anymore. Stitch might come back, and she hoped that he would be able to find her, but, what if he couldn't? She had been in the dungeon for a long time (or at least it had seemed so). What if he came back and he didn't know that she was there? What if he gave up and went back home, and thought that she was gone? Her transmitter was missing; one of the guards had broken it off her wrist when she was trying to break free. The clasp had been broken. She and Stitch had mended it temporarily the night before. But now, she couldn't go home back again by herself.

Where would she go once Clopin set her free? The only place in Paris where she felt safe was in the bell tower, with Quasimodo… but, she had seen him angry. Was he angry with her now? Would he let her stay with him again? She looked down at her feet miserably. Probably not. She wouldn't blame him either.

Lilo bumped unceremoniously into Clopin's leg, grunting in surprise. Clopin put a finger to his mouth, shushing her.

"What is it?" she asked him in a whisper, watching him uncertainly.

"I hear something," Clopin answered as he put a hand to one ear. He nodded quietly. "Yes… I hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Listen closely, dear," he told her. "Something's coming."

Lilo closed her eyes gingerly, listening deeply to what seemed little more than the familiar drip and scurry that had been bothering the both of them throughout the whole trek. Finally, after a short while, her hearing began to sharpen minutely, and the faraway noises of clanking metal and pounding boots began to become apparent. Her eyes shot open suddenly.

"Guards," she hissed unhappily.

"Don't worry," Clopin said carelessly. "They wouldn't dare arrest Judge Claude Fro…"

"Guard the exit!" A familiar, icy voice sliced through Clopin's sentence and stirred a shock and startle within the escapee and her rescuer.

"Well, this has just become difficult," he said miserably, grabbing Lilo suddenly about the wrist and hurrying down the hall. "I swear that man just wants to make my life a living hell!"

"Do you think we'll make it out?" Lilo asked, frightened.

"If we hurry," Clopin replied bluntly, and both hurried their paces on.

After a frightening while, the sounds and shouts of approaching guards loudening with every second, Clopin halted, and with a disconsolate groan, pulled Lilo into a nook in the wall, where shadows took a permanent residence.

"What is it?" Lilo asked.

"There are guards coming up that way too," he told her, glancing out of the nook at the hall. With a short yelp, he pulled back in, and he held Lilo close, a silencing hand clapped knowingly over her mouth.

Just then, a group of soldiers tromped down the hall, passing the two of them without any notice, mumbling amongst themselves.

"What's the point of doing this?" one asked, stopping defiantly in his tracks just before Lilo and Clopin's hiding place. "It's just a gypsy girl for goodness sakes."

"Judge said this one did something bad," one of his comrades answered back, stopping just before him and beckoning him to continue on down to the exit. "I heard that she cursed a girl into illness just a day or two ago. Her father came down looking for a doctor and muttering about a blue monster and his Gypsy owner casting a spell on her."

The other man just harrumphed and leant against the wall just inches away from Lilo and Clopin's spot. His comrade clicked his tongue.

"You're not going, are you?" he asked.

"No. It's not like the judge or the captain's going to notice are they?"

"Well, if that's what you think, but it's your funeral." With those words, the other soldier rushed down the way, trying to catch up with the lost regiment.

Clopin cursed inwardly, staring at the man in hopes his thoughts would will him away. But, as expected, the guard didn't budge from his spot, doing little more than grunting, and picking at his nose. He needed to get Lilo out of this place, and if he didn't hurry, the exit would be so overwhelmed by guards there would be no possible way for him to get through. At least, not with Lilo.

Lilo was trying her best not to scream. She could feel something sniffing at her bare legs, clawing at her ankles. It was a rat. She knew it was. What if it was rabid? What if it bit her? She began to wriggle uneasily, her mouth just barely sustaining its silence. Clopin held her tighter, trying to stop her movement, but Lilo couldn't help it. She felt its nose brushing curiously against her skin, and, with a sudden rush of fear, Lilo let out a scream.

The nearby guard jumped, and turned to the shadows, only to be promptly rendered unconscious by the now surly Clopin Trouillefou. The man fell onto the floor with a loud, metallic clunk. After a short, awkward moment, the sounds of suspicious shouts began to fill the air, and nearing footsteps sounded.

"Oh dear," Clopin said dryly, "who would have guessed they heard that?"

"Sorry," Lilo said sincerely, watching with relief as a rat scurried away.

"Thank you, not that that's going to help now," he said unhappily. What was he going to do now? Running would do no good; if his ears were right (and they were hardly _ever_ wrong), the guards were coming from both ends of the hall. With a disconsolate groan, Clopin flung his arm violently downward through the air, shaking an unhappy fist. He jumped at a sudden tinkle of metal against the stone, and, looking down, he realized that it was that strange bracelet that the dog had thrown to him.

"My transmitter!" Lilo exclaimed, noticing the same sound.

Clopin picked up the metal bracelet, and played with it gingerly. "You don't suppose that this would help with our escape, now do you?"

"It would help a lot!"

"Wonderful!"

With a quick movement, he threw the bracelet around her arm, and hurried to try and close the clasp.

"Oh dear," he muttered, crunching his teeth together. "It won't fit…"

"WHAT?" Lilo cried.

"The clasp is broken; it won't come together!"

"NO!" Lilo exclaimed staring unhappily at the transmitter.

"I'm sorry, dear," Clopin muttered, shaking his head regretfully. "It just isn't working."

And, all around them, the sounds of approaching guards echoed across the halls.

* * *

**A/N: This Chapter was short because I'm making the rest of my chapters short... more than a thousand words, but not as much as usual. I really want to finish this story... especially this story... because, I never finish what I start. And i really love this story a lot... I don't know what's wrong with me... Sorry if the writing wasn't as good as it should've been... I guess I'm sort of out of it, especially lately. READ AND REVIEW, please!**


	25. Silence!

**Author's Note: I wanted to go back to Quasimodo because I don't like ignoring the poor guy... he's one of my favorite characters, and he's... how do I say... complex? And yet he's simple... how do I mean?AH! Ah well... Read and Review! The story should be finished in about... Hmmm... Four chapters...? Oh, it's so close... I'm almost afraid of reaching it...

* * *

**

Chapter 25

Laverne watched Quasimodo worriedly, her thin, ape-like arms draping over one another in a concerned cross against her chest.

The hunchback sat silently at the crude table that created the miniature's streets and square, as taciturn and despondent as ever. Scrump's limp green body fell over his large fingers, her detached arm held in his other, nearby hand. His green eyes scanned over the rag doll carefully, examining the tattered edges of her shoulder and arm with an expert eye.

He had not spoken for a day, not even to Victor, Hugo, or Laverne, who noted the silence with obvious worry. They questioned him incessantly, begging for at least some acknowledgement, some explanation for his confusing behavior. But, despite their attention and concern, Quasimodo spoke to no one, keeping his muteness as if he had pledged an unbreakable vow.

_He's breaking inside_, Laverne thought heavily, the wrinkled corners of her mouth drooping ever the more. _You can see it on his face. He doesn't smile anymore_.

Though his life was filled with hardships that beat against both his body and his heart, Quasimodo had always had the time to smile. He wished for and wanted an ordinary life, one spent without hiding or alienation. He wanted to be down in the active and ordinary walks that spread across Paris like streams from a river, wanted to live in the houses that he towered above every day. But even though those aspirations may never be fulfilled, he would smile. He was proud of his church, of his bells, of every thing that he achieved in the short nineteen years that he had lived through yet. But now, the angry rain poured down upon the grey city, and Quasimodo's smile seemed drowned beneath its gloomy deluge.

"Look at him," Hugo muttered, coming up to stand beside the old gargoyle. "Doesn't look like he's gonna snap out of it anytime soon."

"No, I'm afraid not," Victor acceded, joining the two.

"What do you think is up?" the fat one asked after a moment.

"Obviously it's that little girl," Victor answered, heaving a harsh sigh. "Ever since she disappeared, it's as if he's grown hopeless."

"Well, she'd better get back here soon." Hugo looked at Quasimodo, chewing on his bottom lip as if it were a croissant.

Laverne kept silent, her wisecracks and insight hushed by her concern.

_It's the kid, isn't it, Quasi?_ she asked voicelessly. _That's what's got you acting like this._

There seemed a sense of denial that he exuded whenever she had asked him this, though he never answered verbally. Even when he had waited out in the rain for her for such a long time and had cried when she had not returned within the day, he denied caring about the little girl any further. He seemed to want to forget anything that had to do with Lilo, excepting her doll, which he kept with him wherever he went, tucked into a pouch he tied around his waist. He buried himself beneath his chores, polishing and re-polishing and then further re-polishing the bells until they sparkled almost uncannily in the dim light that poked in through the bell tower's windows. And, when no more chores presented themselves, he whittled figures out of blocks of wood until his fingers ached with cuts and splinters. It was only now, when there was nothing left to do, he sat at his table, as silent and withdrawn as the dead.

Finally, Laverne, ignoring the whispered discussion that the other two gargoyles were having, hopped her way over to stand beside Quasimodo. She looked up at him gravely, her eyes trying to pierce the ugly emotionless shell that he wore, never flinching from her spot. The hunchback acted as if he took no notice of her, greeting her with nothing more than a fleeting glance to where she stood. Quasimodo's attention remained resolutely on the green doll, a serious frown curving over his chin.

"What are you up to, Quasi?" Laverne asked genially, touching his forearm with the tenderness of a grandmother.

Quasimodo was silent. He put the doll down onto the table and reached for a spool standing beside a model townsperson, a needle piercing the thread that curved about it.

Laverne smiled kindly, traces of her worry still visible in her stone eyes. "Sewing?"

He had no answer for her and continued on to pull the needle from the fibers. Placing it to the side, he pulled the string to a considerable length, then, squinting carefully, he proceeded to thread the needle's eye.

Laverne watched him disappointedly as he did his unsaid task. After threading the needle, he looked down at the doll that sat on the table before him. His stare lasted a long while, past the point of examination. The old gargoyle stared up at him, at his eyes, green and moist. There was pride and sadness mixed in that long gaze. Laverne barely understood that shimmer, unsure as to why it was there and what it meant.

Quasimodo finally let out a quiet sigh, the first bit of sound that he had made for the whole day.

"What are you sewing up, Quasi?"

Quasimodo looked forward out at the rain for a long moment, as if thinking deeply for an answer, and then looked down at his close friend. His mouth opened to speak, but, at the last moment, it fell silent, and, shaking his head vigorously, he turned back to Scrump.

Laverne finally turned from the hunchback with an unhappy shake of her head, and, with a final, dissatisfied glance over one bent shoulder, she hopped away, dragging her knuckles along sadly.

* * *

The footsteps were becoming louder with every second, guards in their thick leather boots hurrying over from both sides to confront the maker of the noise. Clopin pulled back into the shadows, dragging Lilo by the wrist after him. She continued fervently to close the clasp of her bracelet, refusing to give up on her final prospect of going back home.

"All I have to do is close the circuit," she gasped at him, still trying to bring both ends together on her wrist. "If I can just make them come together then it'll work!"

Clopin watched her rave about the piece of jewelry with a rolling eye. She was going crazy under all the pressure, he knew it. But, if she didn't quiet herself down soon there would be no chance of either of them surviving this exploit. He pulled her close to him in the small nook that drew into the wall, clapping another thin hand over her moving lips, which mumbled indignantly against his palm. He shushed her, putting a finger to his mouth.

"Quiet!" the king hissed uneasily, baring his teeth in an animalistic way.

Lilo, who was becoming frustrated with her failed attempts and now this new annoyance, pushed away his hand with an uncanny strength.

"Help me!" She shook the chain of metal in his face. "I know that if I just do this, I can make it! I know I can!"

"Young lady," Clopin said in exasperation, holding back that unfriendly hiss that threatened to overwhelm his voice, "I don't know what you mean! The bracelet won't clasp and whatever it is you're saying to me doesn't make much sense at all!"

"But—"

"Quiet yourself," Clopin said, pressing a long, spidery digit against her lips. "We need to be quiet, my dear. There is only one chance of us getting out of this alive, and the last thing we need is for us to be caught before we can."

Lilo wanted to continue talking, wanted to tell him that _this_ was the only way that she could make it out of here alive… she knew that she was just dead weight on his shoulders, that with her dragging along, he would never be able to make it out of this dark place alive. She didn't want to disappoint anyone anymore. But, she saw how he looked, that anger, that frustration… her talking wouldn't help either of them.

She brought her hands together in an unhappy knot, clamping her lips together with the obedience of a beaten dog. She didn't know what to do now… how was she supposed to…?

Lilo felt a sudden mild shock rush up her arm, and, instinctively, she let out a startled scream, quickly shushed again by the unhappy Gypsy beside her. She shut herself up, but, curious, looked down at her hands to find out what had happened. All that she saw in her hands was that infernal transmitter and Quasimodo's talisman… what had…?

Interested, she stuck her finger between the two clasps and a sudden twitch of electricity ran up her arm. Well, that accounted for the sudden shock… her finger would've finished the circuit, but something about it seemed almost dangerous… She repressed a frustrated whine… She had almost done it.

She wanted to cry. If Frollo caught her, no doubt there would be a horrible fate awaiting her. Lilo didn't want any of that. She wanted to go home, she wanted to see her 'ohana again… she wanted to see Quasimodo again… she stared at the medallion, at it's metal face, the golden sun hewn into its surface…

METAL! Was gold a good conductor? Of course it was a good conductor, it was metal, wasn't it? But, she couldn't do it alone. If she did it, she'd probably get shocked again, and then the connection would break before she got home…

"Mr. Clopin!" She tugged on his sleeve, causing a startled scream from the Gypsy king. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" he asked in a strained manner.

"Hold onto Quasimodo's talisman, please?"

"What?"

Shoving the medallion into Clopin's barely ready fingers, she held both ends of the transmitter with her fingers. It was a clumsy way of holding them, but she did it tightly, so that in two fingers she held one clasp and in another two fingers she held the other end.

"Put the talisman between the ends," she instructed, holding the tips apart to fit the pendant and a little bit more. Clopin, though obviously confused, did as she said and slipped the edge of the disc in-between.

"Now, when I give the signal, press this button here," she pointed to the large red button on the face that had "go back" printed on it in white letters. "Do you understand? When I say so, push this button here!"

"I get it," Clopin said with a weary nod. It was strange how much more bossy people were becoming toward him nowadays.

Doing her best to ignore the horrible noise of nearing soldiers, Lilo held the clasps tightly.

_Okay, _she thought in her head, breathing anxiously.

"On the count of three, Mr. Clopin," Lilo told him, glancing up to see him nod. "One…" She tightened her grips on the ends. "Two…" Clopin's finger hovered expectantly over the red button. And, Lilo, letting out a breath of nervous air, screamed out, "THREE!"

In that final second, Lilo forced both clasps against the face of the talisman, and Clopin, holding his breath, pushed against the key. And, with a sudden burst of white light, the young girl disappeared, and Clopin was left standing alone in the shadows of the Palace of Justice with the sounds of soldiers nearer than ever.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you, nice people, who actually review! It is greatly appreciated! And thank you too, those of you who actually read this story! It makes me proud to say I'm writing it! Read and Review, as always!**

**Funfact: Although it's probably not going to happen now, Matthias and Clopin were supposed to resolve their problems by the end of this story... but there have been some changes to the plot, and, as far as I can tell, they seem to have grown farther apart. But, I suppose the two of them will have to deal with their problems until some later date. In the original script, when Lilo and Stitch were reunited, the scene was so touching (and took place in front of the whole court) that the two of them decided that fighting was bad... don't ask... it was in the original story, where Lilo and Stitch were dropped onto that earth by friendly aliens... They had gotten seperated after a fight, and were reuinted in the Court of Miracles... Well, now Clopin and Matthias hate each other! If anyone even REALLY remembers who Matthias is... **

**-Guille van Carter**


	26. Reunited

**Author's Note: Chapter 26, and Lilo is finally home. I liked writing this chapter because I got to go back to Pleakley and Nani and Jumba and Stitch, people i haven't touched in a few chapters. I hope you like it too! Read and Review!**

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**Chapter 26**

Lilo awoke from her sleep, drowsy on the memory of a disappearing dream. She wanted to sleep, wanted to recapture that reverie and keep it forever, but slowly it continued to fade away, slipping from her cognizant mind into the unfathomable depths of her subconscious, where other past dreams went when she awoke. But, she would not give up on that dream. She would not let it go, no matter how far away it was drifting or how hard it was becoming to see it. Lilo would never in her life abandon its memory.

Her eyes opened slowly, her vision blurred and weary. Lilo could not see anything other than a vast white ceiling spreading out above her, illuminated by the golden, dusty sunshine that filtered in through a nearby window. Lilo watched the rays of light groggily, her sight clearing gradually as the seconds ticked away to the click of her alarm clock. She yawned, rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself off the white-lined mattress, blinking blankly at her surroundings. It took her several long moments before she realized where she was.

"I'm home!" she said suddenly, hopping onto her knees, her eyes wide with surprise. She scanned over her surroundings almost incredulously, her eyes shifting back and forth from one familiar thing to another. Yes, she was home! Finally, after everything that happened to her, she was back where she belonged! She recognized everything that she saw as she eagerly skimmed the walls. The shelves of toys beside the door, Stitch's bed hanging nearby, the alarm clock ticking peacefully on her—

Lilo paused, looking back at her bedside table, her exhilaration making way for utter bewilderment. Her alarm clock sat upon its top, staring innocently at her, its crooked mustache signifying nine o'clock. With a tentative move, Lilo poked it, as if trying to make sure it was actually there. Yes, it was true… her alarm clock was still alive and operating perfectly.

Lilo fell back with a confused sigh onto her bed. She could have sworn that Stitch had destroyed it many mornings ago, when she had ignored its loud and continuous chime. And yet, there it sat, working flawlessly but for missing its set seven o'clock alarm. Poking it softly a second time, Lilo felt a sudden unhappy sensation. Could it be that everything that she had gone through had only been… a dream?

It was possible… none of it would have been believable had she not known Jumba. But all of it had seemed so real… the pain, the sickness, her feelings… Quasimodo… Lilo wiped away a tear before it could even trickle all the way down her cheek. She looked at her palms, pink as if freshly washed, last remembered cut and dirty. She searched for a scar or a scab on her finger where she had cut herself on Quasimodo's glass. She found absolutely nothing.

"It was a dream…?" she asked herself almost incredulously. She couldn't believe it… so the pain hadn't been real, none of what she experienced had been true… but, if that was true… why did she feel so sad inside? How could she want anything as painful as that to be real? Why did she want to believe that she let down so many people? Why did she want the sorrow of losing her 'ohana to have really existed? How could she want anything like that?

She let out a sigh, shaking her head unhappily at these questionable thoughts. Lilo didn't like being confused, and she was sorely disappointed with herself when she was the one who was doing the confusing.

Not wanting to further jumble her already chaotic thoughts, the young girl clambered off the edge of her bed, onto the cold morning floor. Tiptoeing on the slight chill, she made her way to the lift that connected her bedroom to the hall below. She wanted to see her family. She missed them so much, even though she hadn't been away for real. She wanted to see their faces, wanted to smile up at them as they looked down at her, wondering why she was acting so curious. She would tell them about her strange dream, and they would all nod, laughing, and then everything would be forgotten again.

The elevator descended with a mechanical whoosh, and Lilo stared out at the familiar hall and doors that made the main of the house. She remained in the tube that housed the lift, wanting to hear what she had imagined she hadn't heard in a long time…

But the hallway was surprising silent that day, devoid of the usual buzz of kitchen conversation that she heard every morning. Lilo stood motionless, her brow furrowed in concentration, seeking out the sounds that she deeply wanted to hear. Shortly, the pad of Pleakley's scurrying tentacles smacking the kitchen floor became apparent, followed by the occasional clink of china against the kitchen table. But, no more activity seemed to exist in the strangely idle household.

After questing for more noises and getting nothing more than the nervous squeak of the ex-galactic agent that seemed to be constantly moving in the kitchen, she let out a sigh and stepped onto the cool floorboards that formed the hall. She ambled to the kitchen, clutching onto the hem of her green nightdress, and stopped just before the opening.

Lilo peeked into the dining area curiously. With a small smile, she saw the ever-panicked Pleakley pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor, that recognizable concern taking his one-eyed face. Lilo's sister, Nani, sat at the round table, her back to Lilo, every once and a while taking a small sip from a mug of coffee that she clutched tightly. Their well-known faces warmed Lilo, and she found herself content with watching their actions as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

A few minutes passed before Lilo finally entered the kitchen, her feet barely making a sound against the floor tile. She passed behind her sister, undetected by either person in the room, and scrambled onto another chair set at the table. No one seemed to take notice of her as she sat in that place, smiling at them broadly as they moved, completely engrossed in their unspoken thoughts.

Lilo stared up at Nani curiously, but the young woman continued to sip at her coffee, staring out at the far wall with wide and nervous eyes. Pleakley seemed to have his single eye glued directly on the strange movements of his three two-toed feet. The little girl tapped her fingers with mild impatience against the bare table, waiting for some acknowledgement from the two busy grown ups.

Finally, she spoke. "I'm hungry," she said sincerely, feeling her stomach grumble as the two words came out of her mouth.

The two in the room almost jumped out of their skin at the unexpected noise, Nani just barely keeping her cream-less coffee from spilling all over the table and floor. Pleakley fell clumsily onto his bottom, hurrying back up onto his feet to maintain some sort of already diminishing dignity. Lilo stopped herself from giggling, cupping a hand over her smirking mouth.

Nani finally looked at Lilo and saw her, her lip quivering unsurely. "Lilo?" she asked tentatively, reaching out to touch her sister on the shoulder.

Lilo tilted her head curiously. "Yes…?" Lilo looked at her sister's face in an examining manner, noting the strangeness in her eyes and mouth. "I think you have something in your eye, Nani," she said at length. "It's all wet and squinty."

With a sudden noise, a mixture of a laugh and a sob, Nani swooped at her sister, her arms wrapping around her with the quickness of a striking cobra. Lilo yelped in surprise, nearly crushed by the passion of her sister's embrace and thoroughly baffled. Nani repeated her sister's name over and over again in relieved but shaky breaths, her face pressed maternally against Lilo's cheek, which she adorned with thankful kisses.

Pleakley, who had seemed to have, in a strange and rare turn of events, lost his voice, finally moved, joining the happy hug and burying Lilo further in cuddles and excited words. The girl couldn't get a word in, and so allowed the surge of hugs and kisses, doing her best to keep from drowning beneath the overwhelming love.

Suddenly, Pleakley pulled away, rushing inelegantly to the kitchen door. "Lilo!" he exclaimed, screaming out excitedly into the hall. "Lilo's awake! She's alive! She's here! Lilo's alive and here!"

Following the sudden proclamation, the pounding of heavy footsteps could be heard thumping on the upper levels, and, soon enough, the scientist Jumba Jukiba lumbered into the room. Pushing the noodle-man unceremoniously away from the door, he walked heavily to the little girl, who had yet to escape from Nani's grasp.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, rubbing the top of Lilo's head roughly. "I see you are being awake, little girl! This is good, very good! 626 almost killed me, you know."

Lilo responded with a mere nod before being pulled along with her sister into an uncommon bear hug from the ex-convict.

Pleakley watched the scene with a smile, his three-fingered hands tucked behind his back. "Human love," he said proudly. "Hugs, kisses, _and _asphyxiation! I love this planet!"

As he watched the sickly-sweet incident play out, a small blue figure came into sight at the corner of his eye. Turning inquisitively, he saw Stitch enter the kitchen, standing beside the door and studying the group silently.

"Hey, Stitch," Pleakley said, waving at the little experiment with a smile. "Don't you want to participate in the traditional Earthanoid welcome back smothering?"

Stitch glanced up at the alien as if the suggestion was tempting, but he had wished he hadn't said it. The blue creature looked at the hugging scene, and, letting out a tired sigh, shook his head.

"Naga," he muttered, turning to walk out of the kitchen. He glanced over his shoulder with a subtle smile, but then trudged with a curious melancholy back up the steps.

"Okay, okay!" Lilo exclaimed finally, pushing away the relieved relatives with a fed up strength. "What happened? What's with the kissing and hugging?"

"What are you talking about, Lilo?" Nani asked, wiping away a final happy tear from the corner of one almond-shaped eye. "You finally woke up."

"Finally?" Lilo asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Are you making fun of me for not waking up in time for school? It's not my fault," she said obstinately. "Somebody must've shut of my alarm clock when I was asleep."

Nani laughed, though there was an obviously confused look on her face. "It's more the fact that you actually woke up, Lilo," she told her, an arm draping about her sister's shoulders.

"Well, you woke up too, didn't you?" Lilo asked. "Did they suffocate you with hugs and kisses?"

Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley exchanged a three-way glance, almost disbelieving what the little Hawaiian was saying.

"Lilo," Nani began, "you've been unconscious for three days."

Lilo's eyes and mouth opened wide with shock. "What do you mean three days?"

"She is meaning you have been conked out for seventy-two hours, give or take a few minutes," Jumba further explained.

"We found you out cold just outside the Dimension Hopper," Pleakley told her.

Lilo gave the alien an incredulous look.

"Don't you remember anything that happened?" Nani gave Lilo a sympathetic look. "You were gone for almost a week, Lilo. When Stitch didn't come back with you, we thought we'd lost you forever."

"You mean it wasn't all just a dream?" Lilo asked, feeling a sudden lightness in her chest. That means that her talisman trick really did work! She hoped Mr. Clopin was okay… "Wait a minute," she said, interjecting her thoughts. She peered at Nani warily. "How do _you _know about it?"

"She wouldn't stop crying," Jumba replied bluntly. Pleakley nodded in agreement.

"If it wasn't all a dream," Lilo thought aloud, "then that means that Quasimodo really existed and I…" She felt her heart fall suddenly, and she looked down at her hands. "I hurt his feelings…"

"What are you talking about, Lilo?" Nani asked, noting the sudden sadness in her sister's face.

Lilo only muttered the word: Quasimodo, which had no real or understandable meaning to Nani at all. Nani suddenly became worried.

Lilo's eyes began to water, and a worry came to beat roughly in her chest. She still hadn't come back yet, even though she promised… There was a good side to all of those events being untrue, but now, knowing that they really existed, that she had actually felt what she had felt... what was she going to do now? Should she forget the promise? Was there anything else that she could do?

"Hey," she muttered suddenly, looking up. "Was I wearing my transmitter when you found me?"

"Well, the transmitter was a few feet away, as if was thrown off," Jumba replied, looking at the ceiling as he tried to remember. "Heh. Is meaning you barely made it before transmitter broke apart again. You are being lucky, little girl."

"Was there a golden talisman near it?" she asked suddenly. "It had a sun on its face and a lot of weird symbols…"

"Oh, you are meaning that shiny doodad. I am thinking 626 is having it, yes."

Lilo hopped decidedly off her chair at the news. "Where's Stitch?" she asked seriously.

The three exchanged another glance, but Pleakley answered nevertheless. "I saw him go back upstairs. He looked really sad and wouldn't help with the smothering."

Nodding, Lilo hurried out the door and up the stairs.

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Stitch sat despondently before the control panel of the Dimension Hopper, playing with the disc of gold that had been lying beside Lilo when she had come back. He examined it suspiciously, his eyes glimmering with a strange sort of jealousy, barely keeping himself from crushing it between his strong fingers. He didn't know from who she had gotten it, or why she had held it so close to her even after they were reunited in the Court of Miracles, but something about it gave him an unhappy vibe. 

He wondered, though he never asked, who this Quasimodo was that Lilo seemed so impassioned toward. She had cried about not being able to see him, yelled at him for making her late, hurried to his door when they were being attacked other than running away. She acted almost as if she loved him. That frightened the experiment just a little bit.

He had never met this Quasimodo, but if Lilo was in love with him, that would be a great problem. What if she didn't want to stay here anymore? What if she wanted to go back to him? He had seen it on television before; the girl was never seen again by her family after she left. Could he make it through life with Lilo so far away?

"Stitch?"

One of the experiment's large ears twitched at the familiar noise. He heard the creak of the attic steps, the uncertain crinkle of fabric… it was Lilo. But the experiment didn't turn around.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, approaching him with her hands on her hips. "You didn't even give me a hug."

Stitch felt guilty. "Sorry," he muttered stiffly, turning to give her a hug before swiftly returning to his original position.

Lilo spotted the golden trinket that her pet had in one of his hands. "You _do_ have it," she said, reaching over Stitch's shoulder to take the talisman. But, Stitch moved, making it impossible for her to take the medallion from his possession.

"Lilo," Stitch began, glancing over his shoulder. "Who…is… Qua-quasi…"

"Quasimodo?" Lilo finished for him.

Stitch nodded his head. "Ih."

"He's my friend," Lilo answered, a plaintive smile taking her face. "He's really nice, and smart…He saved my life and stuff like that… that's his talisman. It's the only reason I got back here… and Mr. Clopin helped too," she added, momentarily wondering whether or not the Gypsy king had made it out unscathed.

"Oh," Stitch responded with a nod. So he had saved her life and even got her home in one way. Something that Stitch had been unable to do. He would have come back, he really would have, but the power had been out for a long time, and Lilo had miraculously arrived just a minute or so after everything started working again. She spoke of him respectfully… maybe his suspicions were right…

"Stitch…" Lilo looked at her friend seriously. "I need to go back."

Stitch blinked in surprise. What did she say?

"I have to see Quasimodo again," she told him, looking at the talisman sadly. "And I need you to help me do it."

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**A/N: Is Stitch the jealous type? He certainly struck me as being it. FYI, his feelings for Lilo aren't romantic at all (my sister's kept poking at me), at least, not in this story. He just doesn't like the thought of Lilo being so far away. They are best friends after all. Well, a few more chapters before the end, and I hope that you all will be there for the conclusion to the Hawaiian and the Hunchback! Review, please!**


	27. Apologies

**Author's Note: Yes, I know it's been so long! But, I've been busy with school, and I couldn't get the chapter started as good as I wanted it to be! Sometimes it ended up very horrible, and I tried to make it start with the fight, but the feeling never got through straight. So, here's chapter 27, and I hope you like it! Read and Review!**

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The open window looked out upon the stretch of sandy hill, the nearby forest and shallows moving slightly beneath the subtle drizzle that had begun to patter down not too long ago. Jumba Jukiba lumbered down the way, a piece of the Dimension Hopper's mainframe dragging behind him, their long trail from the house to the forest marking grooves and footprints into the loose sands. He seemed unaffected by the rain, doing little more than mumble incoherent words beneath rumbling breaths, making his slow journey to the forest's verge, soon to disappear beneath the mesh of leaves and branches.

Lilo watched the scene by the open window, her eyes, staring from beneath lowered brows, slowly trailing Jumba as he labored along in the sprinkle. She let out a harsh sigh, shaking her head in frustration.

"I hate the rain," she whispered to herself, leaning her cheek against the wooden sill. "When I think it goes away, it comes right back."

She didn't usually feel this way, but there was something about the gloomy weather this time around that made her feel increasingly angry at herself. Guilt haunted her constantly now, tightening her chest and threatening her with further unhappy weeping. She had become tired of that also, those constant tears, the salty drops that had so recently began to overcome her cheeks. She could almost imagine herself wandering around with ruts carved into her face, evidence of those many tears.

But, Lilo could do little about eradicating that remorse now as she watched the large, purple alien trudge through the grainy path below. Soon enough, he would pull into the woods and continue to walk until she could no longer see his form. And, not long after, she would hear the deafening explosion thunder from the woods, see the heated wind push through the trees and the black smoke fill the once clear air. Soon enough, the Dimension hopper would be gone forever, taking along with it that final chance that she had owned to see her Quasimodo one last time.

Lilo moved away from the window, frowning irritably as tears began to well up in her eyes, brought about by the bitter thought. With an angry groan, she attacked her eyes with balled up fists, rubbing them furiously, until they became red and pained. Crying, crying, crying! That's all that she did anymore!

Walking away from the window she turned, and, with a sudden jolt of ire and surprise, saw Stitch standing at the edge of the elevator, blinking at her uncertainly.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice a low, resonating hiss.

"Lilo," Stitch began, reaching out a claw as if to touch her. But he pulled his hand back, holding it against the blue fur of his chest, and his eyes fell down to the cold, uncovered floor.

With an irritated roll of her eyes, Lilo pushed past him to her bed, clambering up onto the mattress and falling face down onto her pillow.

Stitch remained silent, watching her as she lay upon her bed, as limp and hopeless as a worm that lay dying from the summer heat. With tentative steps, he shuffled forward slowly, his hands clenching and unclenching in anxiety, keeping a rhythm as constant as his heartbeat.

"Lilo," he repeated, standing now just beside her bed.

"Go away," she interjected in irritation, her voice muffled by her pillow.

"Stitch is sorry," he finished, holding his hands together, his gaze moving from her form to wander uneasily across the floor.

"Sorry?" Lilo echoed, pushing herself off the bed, turning her head swiftly to stare at the blue creature that lingered at her side.

Stitch nodded guiltily, looking up at her in curiosity.

"Well, that's just great, Stitch!" Lilo said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "That's _definitely _going to stop Jumba from destroying the Dimension Hopper! Let's just wave our hands, say the magic word and then everything will be all better, right?"

The experiment blinked, the words slicing deep past his apology right into his heart. He never thought that he could force Lilo into such anger, but somehow he had managed to hurt her more deeply than he had meant to. He hadn't purposefully caused everything to happen; he had only wanted Lilo to stay, afraid of losing her again to the mercy of time and space. Maybe if he hadn't said no. Maybe if he hadn't told her he wouldn't help her. Maybe she wouldn't have attacked him, maybe Nani wouldn't have heard them, maybe they wouldn't be in this mess.

Stitch bowed his head shamefully, releasing a regretful sigh. "Stitch not mean to—"

"Leave me alone," Lilo cut in, an undeniable frustration tipping her words. With a disconsolate grunt, she fell back onto her bed, turning her back on the experiment to stare silently at the wall. She hugged her knees to her chest, kissing the bare skin with frowning lips, and she closed her red eyes. She wanted to go to sleep and dream, in hopes of leaving this painfully muddled situation behind her.

Stitch stared at Lilo's back, tense with anger and annoyance. He stood still, silenced by her sudden, hurtful words, the apologies he had so long planned caught in his throat, slowly becoming forgotten in a haze of uncertainty. A strange sort of impatience began bubbling upward from his stomach, gurgling in his throat as a restrained growl. He was trying to say he was sorry, and all she could do was ignore him and tell him to go away. What was the point in his kindness, in his regret? What reason did he have to apologize if she wouldn't even listen?

Stitch thought back to the attic, where everything had began, where Lilo had asked him to help her see _him_ again. He remembered everything that had run through his head at that moment, the sudden despair, the fright and unhappiness at his suspicions being realized. He couldn't help but feel that jealousy, hearing the half-hidden desperation that flowed with her request. Without thinking, he had said no. No, he would not help her. No, he wouldn't operate the machine. No, he would not risk losing her again. Lilo had questioned him, asked him why he refused, and all he said in reply was "no" yet again. Soon enough, it erupted into a battle of words, which evolved, with a holler and tackle, to a physical match. Stitch hadn't fought back when Lilo had begun; he rebuffed every impulse that took him to hurt her. Nani had heard them from downstairs, and, after Lilo was forced to stop her attack, Stitch had explained the story leading up to the fight. And of course, Nani said no too, causing another fight, this time between her and the little girl. In the end, Nani, in a blaze of emotion, ordered Jumba to destroy the Dimension hopper and sent Lilo up to her room.

It had taken Stitch a long time to gather up the courage to come and apologize to her, and now he felt as if none of his words, no matter how heart felt and truthful he made them, would have any substance to her.

Crossing his arms irritably, he turned away from Lilo and glared at the elevator that had brought him up to their shared room.

"Stitch said sorry," he said, taking a step toward the exit. "But if Lilo not care, Stitch not care then too. But…" Stitch turned to glance over his shoulder to where Lilo lay. "…But, Stitch _is_ sorry. And…" The experiment let out a sigh. "Stitch means it."

Lilo hugged herself closer at the words. She felt guilty now, the tone of his voice evident to her now that she took her time to actually listen. But she couldn't turn, her pride and frustration holding her in a tight grip, and she resigned herself to laying there, wrapped up in her shadowed feelings.

Stitch hadn't moved for a while, but now, his sincere words greeted with a cold, awkward silence, he took heavy footsteps toward the elevator. His chin was on his furry chest, his clawed hands once again opening and closing in that rhythmic anxiety. Well, he thought, he had tried.

"Wait."

Stitch stopped, his ear twitching at the sound of his best friend's voice. He turned about to look at Lilo, who he saw kneeling on her mattress, her hair veiling her face in a drape of black.

"Look, Stitch," Lilo began, her eyes still on her pillow. "I'm sorry too. But… it's just that…" She looked at Stitch, and the experiment saw with a jolt the tears that had begun to well up in her eyes. "Stitch, I promised!"

Stitch made his way back to the edge of her mattress, watching Lilo attentively as she wiped away the tears.

"He's sad all the time, Stitch," she began with a tired sigh. "He doesn't have a lot of friends, and people run away from him all the time, because they're scared."

Stitch nodded, guessing only that it was Quasimodo that she was talking about.

"But I saw him smile, Stitch, and I know that he could be happy someday…" Lilo smiled gently, and looked down at her experiment lovingly. "Sometimes, he made me think of how I felt a lot of the time… before you came around."

Stitch looked away in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin taking his face.

"You're my angel, Stitch," Lilo told him. "And I think that, maybe, I'm Quasimodo's, if that doesn't sound too weird."

Stitch shook his head. "Not weird."

Lilo smiled sadly. "Yeah," she said. "I wanted to help him so much… but, I got him into a lot of trouble… and I broke one of the things that he cared about the most in his life… he was so angry, he told me to go away."

Stitch felt a sort of familiarity now toward the unknown man that Lilo spoke of, thinking back to those vivid memories of his first three days with her, the trouble he had forced upon her, the photo he had burnt, the accusing words that she had shot at him.

"But, I ended up living with him for a while, and I learned a lot of things… I know that he didn't want me to go away… He was crying… And I promised to go back, Stitch… Even if it's only for ten minutes, or something like that… It's my duty as an angel, right?"

Stitch didn't answer for a while, thinking over this question.

"Plus," Lilo added, "he's got Scrump."

Lilo let out a harsh sigh and leaned against her headboard. "But I guess I can't do anything about it now, huh? Jumba's going to destroy my only way to see him again, and Nani's not going to leave him alone until he gets rid of something. I guess we're sunk."

Stitch tilted his head, tapping a nail thoughtfully against his chin. "Maybe not," he said at length, crawling onto Lilo's bed.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe we can get you to finish Angel Duties," Stitch said. "But, Stitch needs Lilo's help, okay?"

Lilo smiled at him thankfully. "Yes," she said suddenly, throwing her arms around his neck and pecking his cheek. "So, what's the plan?"

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**And... that's the end... Two more chapters until the end... it's so close... could it be possible that Ms. van Cartier is actually going to finish something that she started? Let's hope so... I want to know how it feels like! Read and Review, constructive criticism, if you please!**


	28. Going Back

**Author's Note: Like, oh ma gawd, is this possible? Guille van Cartier has ACTUALLY updated The Hawaiian and the Hunchback! And here I went, thinking she'd just stop two chapters before it ended and NEVER touch it again... but sadly, no... I actually touched it again, and since I haven't written in so long, the style is sort of strange... forgive me. I've been going through this whole "eradicating to be verbs" phase, so I'm trying not to use "was, is, are" and so on and so forth... so this is how it is! Well, read and review, mes amis! Tell me what you think!**

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Deep in the thick forest that flourished near Nani and Lilo's home, Jumba's gargantuan red ship, camouflaged haphazardly with several palm fronds and random underbrush, lay parked semi-permanently in the wet dirt. The rain continued to patter downward, its fall softened minutely by some unknown circumstance; the drops pinged against the thick alien metal, echoing through the woods with a hollow ring.

Inside, however, the noise went unheard, its metallic ding lost somewhere between the wiring and insulation that sat sandwiched between the roof and the ceiling. Inside, the rain that drizzled constantly was all but forgotten, and the conversation that ensued remained uninterrupted.

Lilo's voice echoed against the high ceiling as she spoke, her businesslike tone revealed ever the more for the slight magnification of her voice. She stood with a regal posture, her back straight and her chin somewhat lifted, while she held her hands patiently against her back. Beside her, Stitch attempted the same stance, only slightly off the mark for his natural fidgetiness. Both looked upon the great, lumbering scientist Jumba Jukiba, who sat not too far away in the spinning chair before his supercomputer, seemingly listening to what the duo had to say.

"So let me get this straight," he said after a short moment, waving a large hand to halt Lilo's speech. "You two are asking me to help you get little girl back to dimension she was being in so that she can be completing her… angle ditties?"

"Angel Duties," Lilo corrected.

"Yes, yes, whatever, isn't mattering; they are both very strange," Jumba said swiftly, brushing off Lilo's words as nothing. "But what_ is_ mattering is that you want me to help you do them."

Lilo and Stitch nodded in reply. "It's really important," the Hawaiian told him, a small amount of melancholy sincerity spilling into her once no-nonsense voice. "I have to tell him I'm sorry and that I didn't mean for things to happen." She let out a slow, pensive sigh, her eyes falling from Jumba's large form to the sleek metal of the floor. "I owe it to him."

Stitch looked at the little girl worriedly, maintaining the straight-backed position that Lilo had managed to lose. He pulled a hand from behind his back, its movements hesitant and unsure. But, it made its eventual way onto her shoulder, giving her a consoling squeeze.

"Lilo," Stitch murmured gently, still holding onto her shoulder.

The little girl glanced up to look at her friend, whose face was kind but obviously strained. It reminded her of the task that the both of them had at hand; she didn't want to give Jumba a reason to deny their vital request. So, after passing her friend a sad but thankful smile, Lilo straightened herself out and once again stared seriously into Jumba's four strange eyes.

"We need your help, Jumba," she said at length, and she looked at him almost pleadingly, though her posture and grimace reflected a different feeling.

Jumba knew, or he could at least somewhat understand, the intensity of Lilo's need just by looking at her eyes. Though his expertise tended to lean more toward the sciences than to social or emotional things, he could see such a sadness sparkling beneath the brown and black. It wasn't difficult for him; though many times he old himself off as extremely apathetic, deep down he could admit that even he had feelings that didn't border around the evil man he had made society believe he was. But, a problem still existed that might hinder his helping the two.

"And what is your sister saying about this, hm?" he asked, grinning at them knowingly despite the compassion he felt inside.

For the second time in their conversation, Lilo faltered, the intense expression giving way to uncertainty, as if now she started questioning herself. Her eyes once again wandered to the floor, seeking comfort or answers, it seemed, that she couldn't find within herself. Jumba watched her quietly, able to maintain his unfeeling smile. It was almost as if he knew she would react in such a fashion and had asked her the question purely for the sake of seeing that unhappy face.

And, yet again, Stitch came to Lilo's assistance.

"Nani say nothing," he replied in his slow English, taking a short moment to glance at Lilo curiously.

"Nothing?" asked Jumba, his chair creaking loudly as he leaned back onto it. He easily knew that it meant they hadn't at all asked. But, feeling the kindness that he easily felt for a pair of troublemakers, he just nodded his head in comprehension, one hand stroking his round chin in interest.

"But, what will Jumba get for his kindness, hm?" he asked, crossing his legs and leaning forward as if demanding an answer.

Lilo and Stitch shared a glance, as if they had expected such a question to appear well before it had come along. The little girl nodded her head at the blue experiment, who in turn gave her a nod of his own to suggest his confirmation. A second later, Stitch pulled out a small, red device from some unknown hiding place, presenting it proudly in one claw lifted high above his head. Jumba looked at it curiously, his interest piqued. It was Pleakley's communicator. What could he want with that? He doubted they would give it to him as a reward; the two of them were much cleverer than that.

"In just a short day," Lilo began, her voice becoming crisp and clarion like an infomercial announcer's, "I realized that I can get my older sister Nani to do what I want her to do. She's so happy that I came home alive that she's let me get away with anything!"

"With exception of Angel Duties," Stitch added matter-of-factly.

"With the exception of Angel Duties," Lilo repeated with a nod, her face taking on an annoyed expression for a moment. "Shall I demonstrate?"

"Yes, you shall," Stitch replied, acting as if the whole thing had been planned and rehearsed.

With a quick movement, Stitch played with the controls on Pleakley's little round communicator, which let out a buzz of static and half-finished words that echoed against the ship's walls. A short moment afterward, the noise fell away to an expectant silence, when was quickly broken when the dull familiar ringing of a telephone sounded out.

"Here," Stitch said, politely handing Lilo the device as it continued to send forth a number of regular rings.

"Thank you," Lilo answered graciously as she accepted the communicator, nodding at Stitch thankfully.

After four of the rings echoed through the chamber, the click of a telephone being answered broke the pattern, trailed closely by the sweetly accented voice of Lilo's sister.

"Hello?" Nani asked, her voice loud against the silence that had taken the ship.

"Hey, Nani," Lilo greeted, adopting her usual energized voice. She took a moment to glance at Stitch, who sent her a grin and an enthusiastic thumb up.

Nani was quiet for a moment, as if in surprise, but then said, "Lilo? Is that you?"

"Yup," Lilo answered.

"Why are you talking to me on the phone?" Nani asked, a not of puzzled suspicion apparent in her voice.

"I didn't want to yell in order to get to talk to you," Lilo answered innocently.

"Why not?" You've been doing it since I sent you to you up there." Nani sounded somewhat annoyed upon mentioning it, but her tone retained that sisterly care.

"Well, that was for food and stuff like that," Lilo replied quickly. "I want to talk to you about something important this time."

There was another moment of short quietude, as if Nani were a little taken aback. "Of course, Lilo," she said a moment later, her tone light and happy, almost flattered. "So, what do you want to talk about? Whatever it is, I'll listen."

"Thanks, Nani," Lilo said, and, despite the fact that she did all this to trick her sister, a small, happy smile crept onto her face. "Well, anyway, I was thinking… can we have a special breakfast tomorrow?"

"Breakfast?" Nani murmured questioningly, obviously having expected something of greater consequence. "Well, sure, Lilo," she responded nonetheless. "What do you want me to cook? Oh, I found mom's special waffle recipe! Maybe we can…"

"That's great, Nani," Lilo interrupted, "but I was thinking that we could go out for breakfast."

"…go out for breakfast," Nani echoed, a small, disbelieving laugh mixed into her words. It was apparent that Lilo was beginning to confuse her. "Well, alright, you're the boss… even though I really would've liked to cook mom's waffles… well, where do you want to go?"

Lilo and Stitch shared another one of their secretive glances, sly, knowing smiles creeping across their faces suspiciously. Jumba leaned forward, almost falling off his chair in absolute curiosity.

"How about…" Lilo began slowly, tapping her chin in a deliberating manner, all the while grinning mischievously and passing hinting looks at the scientist. "…the Pancake Hut?"

In a heart-stopping split second, the large purple alien leapt up from his chair, whooping loudly and excitedly, his fists punching the air in triumph. In the sudden explosion of unexpected noise, Lilo nearly dropped the communicator onto the floor; she fumbled to keep in her hands, doing her best to keep her own loud shouts to herself.

"Lilo? " Nani's voice could barely be heard over Jumba's uproar. "Lilo, what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Lilo replied, clapping a hand over the face of the communicator to muffle the loud sound. She made an anxious gesture to Stitch, who nodded quickly in understanding, rushing over to his creator who was busy bounding happily up and down the length of the room.

Stitch caught up with him in a matter of seconds, clambered up to stand on the scientist's shoulder, and slapped an unceremonious paw over Jumba's large mouth.

"Shh!" he hissed through an inch long finger nail that he pressed against his two lips. "Jumba must shut up!"

Jumba did little more than nod stupidly at the experiment, an excruciatingly happy smile on his large face.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Lilo lifted her hand from the communicator's screen, only to be greeted by her sister's suspecting questions.

"Lilo!" Nani yelled, intent on getting Lilo to listen to her after several moments of ignored inquiry as the little girl had her hand on the screen and her attention on Jumba. "Lilo, what was that? What just happened?"

"It was nothing," Lilo replied swiftly, laughing nervously as she answered. "Probably just Jumba doing some of his crazy experiments again… You know how you can hear him blowing things up all the way into town."

Nani murmured softly, as if in consideration of the suggestion, but she gave no real response, probably doubting the little girl's words. Lilo held her breath, awaiting some sort of answer from her sister, who seemed to be taking a long, tormenting time of giving one. It seemed that she was listening, hoping to catch another snatch of that mysterious noise in hopes of finding out its true meaning. Lilo's eyes wandered incessantly over to where Jumba and Stitch stood, the experiment's hand still holding the large alien's mouth closed. She could just imagine how Nani would react if he made another noise…

But, after a minute passed with Jumba miraculously finding the self-control to keep himself quiet, Nani just muttered out an "okay", and gave up on her quest. Lilo and Stitch let out a sigh of relief.

"The pancake hut, then?" Nani asked, a small trace of her distrust evident in how slow she spoke.

"Yup," Lilo replied, glaring at Jumba when he released a soft but excited chuckle at the restaurant's name.

Nani didn't seem to notice the laugh, though, a little too engrossed in her own giggle to hear it. "You know," she began, snickering at a thought, "Jumba's been begging me to take him there since it opened a month ago."

"Really?" Lilo asked, feigning ignorance in hopes of keeping some of her credibility. After that little mess up with Jumba just a moment ago, she needed to seem a little more innocent, even though she and Stitch had spent many days laughing and joking at Jumba's childish whininess.

"Yeah," Nani said, laughter evident in her tone. "But I told him 'no'. He wouldn't go alone; it's only all you can eat if you bring your family with you, you know? And you know how Jumba is when something says 'all-you-can-eat'."

"Yup," Lilo said with a snicker of her own. "He eats it all."

Jumba almost made a noise at this, but Stitch, still sitting diligently on his shoulder, shushed him yet again. Disallowed to talk, the man stood there in a huff, his arms crossed against his chest.

"Yeah… But I guess we can't avoid it forever, right?" Nani said. "Pancake Hut it is… Let's just hope Jumba keeps it cool this time."

"If he doesn't promise to behave," Lilo told Nani, "we could make it so he doesn't get to go."

She glanced at Jumba, who looked extremely hurt where he stood.

"That's a good idea, Lilo," Nani agreed. "I'll tell him that."

"Don't worry," Lilo said, grinning to herself. "I'll do it. Thanks, Nani!"

"No problem," the young woman told her genially. "Talk to you later."

"You too." Lilo pushed the antennae down, and the communicator screen blanked out.

The scientist looked at Lilo with four sad eyes, a frown on his face. "You wouldn't go to the Hut of Pancakes without your dear old Jumba, would you?"

"That depends," Lilo said, tossing the red device to Stitch, who leapt easily off of his creator's shoulder and caught it in midair. He scuttled across the floor to his friend's side and tucked Pleakley's communicator away in that unknown place. The two of them made their way up to Jumba.

The scientist looked down at them, his head tilted curiously. "Depends on what?"

"Will you help me?" Lilo asked him, staring up at him with a look too serious for such a little girl.

Jumba let out a sigh. Of course that would be the case; he had almost forgotten about it. A breakfast at the Pancake Hut wasn't too much of a reward, no matter how sorely he wanted it, but of course that nagging conscience, who seemed to be growing bigger every day he spent in that house, told him to be nice.

"Deal," he replied, and he extended a large purple hand to seal their agreement.

* * *

Lilo twisted the claps of Stitch's transmitter to a close.

"There you go," she said with a smile, tugging gingerly at the metal band to test the clasp before pulling her hands away contently. "Yours is good and tight, so you won't get swept away and deposited in a random place in time like I did."

Stitch gave her a nod of his head and patted his wrist gladly. "And you?" he asked.

"Yup," she said with a sincere grin. "Me too."

Behind the pair, the hum of mechanics gradually loudened to a constant buzz, the lights and screens of the Dimension Hopper slowly flickering to life as Jumba worked diligently at the controls. His fingers, though large, played skillfully across the keypads and switches, every button pressed bringing Lilo and Stitch all the more closer to their impending journey. Paris awaited them, just a few dimensions past the closed door of the Dimension Hopper's compartment, and Lilo could barely wait.

After taking a few more moments to punch further directions into the control panel, the great scientist turned around, greeting the two inter-dimensional travelers with a subtle smile.

"Are you being ready now?" he asked.

"Ih," Stitch replied, nodding his head.

"Transmitters?" Jumba demanded.

The two friends lifted up their right arms in response, showing the lumbering alien the mechanical bracelets with their glowing green screens.

"All on good and tight, yes?" the scientist continued.

"Good and tight and ready for inter-dimensional travel, sir!" Lilo replied, sending him a militaristic salute.

"Good, good!" Jumba chortled, his grin widening into an enormous, open-mouthed smile. "Now, we can be getting on with this angle ditty business."

"Angel duty," Lilo corrected.

"Didn't I tell you already that it didn't matter?" Jumba asked, throwing his arms up into the air and shaking his neck-less head. Rolling his four eyes, he turned back to the block of mechanics that controlled his machine and focused on a screen that lay nestled amongst the numerous knobs, switches, and buttons of the panel.

"Wait, Jumba," Lilo began, walking up and tugging on his white lab coat. "What about my translators? I need those to talk to Quasimodo; he lives in France…"

Jumba started, his four eyes widening, and he looked down at the little girl, scratching at the back of his head guiltily. "Well… about that…"

Lilo looked up at him suspiciously. "What happened?"

"Well, your sister was up on Jumba's back about Dimension Hopper, you know," he explained with an embarrassed shrug of his shoulders. "I had to get rid of something to make her go away; evil scientist doesn't destroy genius device without a little fight, you know…"

"You broke the translators?" Lilo asked, aghast.

"Well, exploded the translators is more like it," Jumba said with a slight embarrassed chuckle. He reached into a pocket on his lab coat, pulling out a fist that opened before Lilo to reveal the few charred remains of the translator that Jumba had managed to collect. They sat upon his open palm, barely holding themselves together; she moved to touch one, and it crumbled away into dust.

"Well, I guess that means no translators," Lilo murmured after a moment, staring at the black dust that the dead machinery had left upon her fingers. It took her a while to look up from her hands, Stitch and Jumba noticed; it looked as if she'd lost herself in thought yet again.

They didn't completely understand just why she had become so plaintive. Stitch had a greater understanding than Jumba, having gone through an incident that related to the little girl's to a certain extent, but even he didn't know what made her act in such a way. She wasn't always a carefree girl; she went through the difficulties of alienation almost every day that she spent away from the house. But, she seemed to have matured somehow; it confused the both of them.

Lilo finally lifted her face up, rubbing the soot on her fingers upon her red dress.

"Well," she said, smiling weakly, "whatever, right? We have to get this done."

She made her way over to the dimension hopper's compartment, her hands tucked behind her back. Stitch and Jumba exchanged a glance, and both of them, reading each other's looks, shrugged their shoulders in reply. Neither of them knew the answers to their questions.

_No translators, no translators, no translators! _Lilo rested her head unceremoniously against one of the cubicle's walls. This was bad… She was pretty sure Quasimodo didn't know how to speak English… he was French, right? She bowed her head unhappily, feeling a bout of frustration coming on. What could she do? Could she pull this off without even being able to _talk _to the guy? How can she do this?

"Lilo?" Stitch approached his friend tentatively, one of his eyebrows furrowed in slight puzzlement. "Something wrong?"

"How can I be an angel if I can't even talk to him?" she demanded, holding back the urge to bang a fist against the dimension hopper's wall. "How will he know that I'm sorry if I can't even tell him? How will he know?"

Stitch looked at her for a quiet moment, his head tilted to the side. "He will," he said after a moment, and he took Lilo's hand and patted it kindly. "He will know."

Lilo looked at Stitch curiously. She didn't completely understand what he meant when he said that.

"Angel no need to talk to be understood," he said, grinning.

Lilo smiled. "Yeah," she said, and she gave him a hug. "They can just bark if they want to."

"You two are being ready now?" Jumba inquired. He sounded slightly annoyed, as if the whole operation took too long to get through with.

Lilo gave Stitch a grateful smile, and then scurried over to Jumba. "Ready!"

"Ready!" Stitch echoed, rushing to her side.

"Alright, then!" Jumba roared gladly. "Now, the two of you are only having thirty minutes to finish your duties—"

"Thirty minutes?" Lilo frowned at the sudden arrangement.

Jumba looked at her for a long while, a brow lifted in curious surprise, before answering.

"Yes," he said. "Thirty minutes, or half an hour I could say. Maybe, even one episode of X-files with all the commercials and such. That long."

"First off," Lilo began, "X-files episodes are an hour long! Second of all, I know how long thirty minutes is, and it's not enough time for me to finish my angel duties!"

"Wouldn't that be a third of all?" Jumba asked with an offhand laziness, acting as if none of what Lilo said really meant anything.

"Jumba!" Lilo exclaimed, suddenly feeling that familiar aggravation creep into her tone.

Jumba shook his head. "Thirty minutes," he repeated.

Lilo couldn't believe it. "But—"

"You and 626 have told me that you are wanting only to say sorry and that you were not meaning not to come back," Jumba interrupted. "I am not thinking is to be taking very long, hm?"

Lilo opened hr mouth to reply, but, after a short moment of thought, she said nothing, declining her argument. When she lingered on the subject, she understood why Jumba would think of the situation in that sort of light. She had only stayed with Quasimodo for a very short amount of time, too short of a time, most would conclude, to forge any real bond. But for some unexplainable reason, Lilo felt as if she understood what Quasimodo experienced more than any little girl every should. The alienation that society put him through, the curse of being different and having little to no one to understand him for it. It might seem that Lilo and Quasimodo should treat one another as little more than acquaintances. But, Lilo knew that just because something seemed one way didn't mean that reality saw it as such. Something deep, something unexplainable, something locked away had made her appreciate the poor hunchback. Something that now told her that, no matter what obstacles would move to stand in her way, she should endeavor her hardest to seem him again.

Lilo knew that there existed no possible way for her to explain everyone of her feelings toward the subject to Jumba. To be truthful, she didn't completely understand them herself. The longer she waited before taking this final trip, the better a chance she had of getting discovered by Nani; she needed to get this done as quickly as possible.

Finally, Lilo released a long sigh that signified her unhappy defeat.

"Alright," she said at length, bowing her head in calm resignation. "Thirty minutes."

"Glad you are seeing my way," Jumba said. He lumbered his way over to the compartment of the Dimension Hopper and pulled open the creaking door. "Now, we cannot be fitting the both of you into one compartment, so we have to figure out who will be going first."

Stitch let out an irritated groan as he remembered that little glitch in the system.

"Why Jumba not build Dimension Hopper in the ship?" he questioned in exasperation, gesturing to the whole of the room that they stood in. "More power, not have to make compartment so small!"

"I thought that it would be a good use for the holo-wall," Jumba said in reply, shrugging his shoulders passively. "Very saddening seeing very good evil genius invention sit on shelf without use, you know."

Stitch growled in reply. "Stupid Jumba," he muttered.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jumba said, shaking a finger at the experiment. "Think about it. Is stupid Jumba who is getting little girl to where she wants to go! Now, who is going first?"

"I will," Lilo said. She walked into the chamber, which Jumba closed behind her with a slight creak.

Jumba went to stand at the control panel, just within Lilo's view through the small window set in the door, and she saw him countdown with his fingers yet again.

5…4…

She let out a sigh and crossed herself, begging to Elvis that she would get through this ordeal safely.

3…2…

Lilo glanced out the window at Stitch, who waved at her, looking extremely worried.

1…

Lilo waved back, mouthing the words "I love you" just as Jumba sent her traveling. She felt that familiar buzz of electricity coursing through her, the frightening sensation of being pulled into some portal, the whole ordeal of the world being "flushed down the toilet". And, then, there was a flash of bright light, and she felt herself flying through a blinding unseen world.

* * *

**A/N: That is so strange, isn't it? It's done... now, what's left is the whole Quasimodo confrontation, and Guille's going to try to end it pretty... hm. That's so sad... Isn't it? Oh well. sniffles It's so close; the end is so close... Ah well... Someday, it'll get done, you know? Well, READ AND REVIEW IF YOU LOVE ME, OR AT LEAST THIS STORY!**


	29. Until we meet again

**Author's Note:**** Omigod. Did I actually write it? Can it be that it's finally reached its completion? Hawaiian and the Hunchback's final chapter has finally arrived after who the heck knows how long. Now, if people actually still read this, you might be wondering why in the world I took so long. First off, I was REALLY busy, second off Mr. Muse has been insisting I work on drawing other than writing. Which may explain the increasing number of doodle papers messing up my bedroom and my lowering English grades. Well, anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. I wrote half of one day, rested for a month, wrote another quarter, then rested for another month, and then I decided today to just finish up the rest. So, I apologize before hand. And, now, if you're REALLY NICE, you'd leave me a review that tells me that writing this was worth something. Just a little begging. READ AND REVIEW!

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**Chapter 29**

Paris lay, nestled in a deep sleep, beneath the blue of a sky lost between morning and night. The sun hadn't risen yet; a slight flow of red and orange lingered in the eastern horizon, marking where the fiery, dawn sun prepared to appear. The familiar cold calm reigned through out the city. Its silence went unbroken but for the old half-timbered houses, who seemed to take deep, creaking breaths of the icy air. Nothing stirred but for the winter breeze, who passed through the city discreetly, its usual howls subtle and undefined, and every few moments it played with the shingles that hung before the many Parisian businesses. The rain that had fallen for the past few days seemed to have faded off with the night.

In a random alleyway, a rat scurried drowsily through the gutter. It had just come from feasting, eating its fill from the scraps found beneath a noble's table, and it longed to make its way back to its hole, where it could sleep with little risk of being discovered.

But, before the poor rat could scamper back to its home, a flash of bright, near-blinding light exploded above it, and, much to the rat's surprise, a little girl, wide-eyed and screaming, rocketed from its depths. The rat let out a frightened squeak, just before the little girl fell onto him. As the little girl tumbled away from momentum, the now unconscious rat twitched one crooked leg.

Lilo rolled along the alleyway, yelling from pain and adrenaline. The cobblestones bruised her legs as she moved along, and her arms, which were raised to protect her face, hit the ground in an unpleasant manner. A moment later, she crashed into a brick wall, and her painful journey came to an end.

Lilo let out a shaking groan, and she rolled onto her back, relieved. She lingered there for a moment, staring up at the sky through the gap between the two jutting roofs of the surrounding houses, the stars blinking curiously at her.

"Why did that landing," she began, asking no one in particular, "hurt more than the first one?"

She didn't feel like throwing up, like the first time, and she wasn't blind, like the first time, but she did hurt a whole lot more coming out of the portal than last time. It seemed that, where she received less of a hassle during the actual trip, she gave up the pleasure of a nice landing. It took her a moment or two, lying with one side to the brick wall, contemplating the pain and cold, before she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her feet.

Lilo patted away the wrinkles and dirt that her dress had acquired, looking around warily for any person that she might've alerted with her noise. Luckily, nothing greeted her but the morning's quietude, and Lilo let out a relieved sigh. Trailing one hand against the wall of the house beside her, she made her way to the alleyway's edge, which opened up to a square.

Catching sight of Notre Dame standing a few hundred yards nearby, Lilo felt her heart beat faster against her chest. The sun had risen a bit more in the distance, its round head evident between pointed roofs, casting away some of the shadows that lurked about the plaza. Lilo took a deep breath, staring up at the cathedral's twin towers.

Suddenly, the familiar iron voices sang out into the air, ringing from the bell tower. It seemed that morning had not broken until that one point, where Notre Dame's metallic melody echoed through the emptying heavens. Shutters opened, revealing tired and yawning faces, and a few citizens stepped from their houses, ambling sleepily down the way. Lilo watched them, pushing up against the wall, hoping to stay undiscovered, and wondered impatiently just where Stitch was.

Just as that thought passed through her mind, a disconcerted yell broke the silence behind her and a blue creature crashed into her legs, forcing her back down onto the ground.

"Stitch!" Lilo hissed, groaning slightly from impact. She shushed him, a finger to her mouth. "Careful… we don't want to get caught by Frollo again."

Stitch nodded, imprisoning many curses in his throat.

"What took you so long?" Lilo asked after taking a few more glances about her.

"Talisman," Stitch murmured, holding the golden trinket before Lilo's eyes. "Maybe, I think, Lilo need?"

Lilo looked a long while at the pendant, surprised that Stitch had thought about something that vital. She needed to show this to Quasimodo, so that he could learn everything about his past, everything that she had learned from Clopin. She took the talisman with a nod, thanking her pet before pushing herself back into the shadows against the wall.

"We have to get to Notre Dame now," she told him, staring at the carved façade. "It's going to take a while to explain things to Quasimodo, what with me not being able to talk to him and all."

Stitch nodded regretfully in understanding.

"Okay, on my count," Lilo began, staring hard at the stairs before the cathedral. "One… Two…RUN!"

The two shot from the alleyway, hurrying over to Notre Dame, scuttling up the set of stairs and tugging hard against the door handles.

"It won't budge!" Lilo hissed. Apparently, they locked up for the night.

"Stitch try," the experiment proclaimed, raising a claw to take the metal ring. But, before he could make his attempt, the door creaked open, a cloaked old man, probably a clergyman, stepping out. Lilo and Stitch twitched in surprise, partially afraid that this man, if he discovered them, would turn them in to Frollo, but, after a few seconds, they realized he hadn't noticed them at all. He seemed rather sleepy, as if he had just awoken, and his eyes were caught upon the staining orange sunlight that slowly crept across the square.

So, taking the opportunity fate had given them, the two comrades edged into the cathedral from behind the old man and hurried along.

"This way," Lilo whispered, padding over to the arched door that led to the bell tower steps. The two rushed up the stone staircase, puffing as their legs began to tire. The way stood long, and climbing stairs wasn't exactly the easiest sort of exercise. But, soon enough, the two persevered, and they walked out onto Notre Dame's walkway. The breeze intensified at the new height, nipping at their exposed skin, turning Lilo's nose and cheeks red.

Lilo led her way around the tower's outside, once and a while rubbing her arms to regain lost heat. Stitch followed close behind. Finally, the two passed beneath the bell tower's Gothic arch entrance, and the comrades huddled for a moment against the stone wall, shivering.

Stitch pushed up against Lilo's hugging her gently, trying to warm her with his fur. Lilo mumbled thankfully to him for his kindness, but Stitch only barely acknowledged her, too busy examining the tower to notice. A system of wooden stairs and ladders led up from sets of platforms working upward. From his post, he could see rats and spiders scurrying along the cobwebbed beams above, and some statuary pieces scattered about. There was something strange about all of it.

Lilo glanced about the familiar surroundings, a shaky smile playing against her lips. She had missed it somewhat, despite the cold and the mildewing smell. Mostly, Quasimodo was the reason she felt nearly homesick for it. And now, she came to make everything better. She would explain everything to him. From why she hadn't come back to the forgotten horrors he had experienced in his infancy, hidden from him by Judge Claude Frollo himself. She just hoped that he would understand everything that she would try and tell him. She hoped he wouldn't misunderstand what she had to say…

Lilo felt a sudden fear slide into her mind. What if he misunderstood something? What if he didn't get what she had to say, and ended up guessing something else? Getting him to understand held great importance, to both her and him, though he may not know it then. What if she couldn't get him to know?

"Stitch," Lilo began, her grip tightening on the talisman.

"Yes, Lilo?"

"I want you to do something for me."

Stitch blinked at her in wonder. "Do what?"

Lilo looked down at the sun-faced pendant, and let out a sigh. "Take this," she began, pushing it against Stitch's hands and closing his fingers about it. "Please, try and give it to Mr. Clopin."

"But, Lilo," Stitch stammered, looking back and forth between his friend and the talisman. He thought she needed it for her angel duties…

"Please, Stitch?" she begged. "I need you to give it to him. Tell him that it's for his inspiration, so that he can make that song that he told us about."

Stitch nodded, though he didn't completely understand what went on in the little girl's head.

"Tell him," Lilo continued, "to make it really good. So that he can sing it to Quasimodo someday."

A slow comprehension came upon Stitch, but it wasn't complete. He nodded slowly again, before pulling away from the girl and making his hesitant way toward the entryway that he and Lilo had just entered.

"Thanks, Stitch," Lilo murmured as he left. She trusted Clopin's abilities. She knew that he could make Quasimodo understand everything that happened.

Letting out a sigh, Lilo rubbed her arms once again before making her way up the first set of stairs to where the hunchback lived.

* * *

Quasimodo dropped down from the bells, his face taking its usual, sad frown. More than a week had passed since Lilo had broken her promise, and he still found it difficult to move past the pain and disappointment. It still lingered, though not so intense, and it left him cold and silent. He had left Scrump hiding away from his sight behind one of his carved buildings; he didn't want to be reminded.

The hunchback made his way to the makeshift table, set before an open window, and he stared out at the developing morning. The sunshine trickled barely through the window, the sun not yet high enough to brighten the tower. He glanced up at the mobile that rotated slowly back and forth from the passing wind. He hadn't yet seen those diamonds of light that he and Lilo had wanted to see; the rain had fallen heavily the past few days, concealing the sun behind dark clouds. Though the mobile stood as a constant reminder of the little girl, the thought of getting rid of it presented too much pain for him. He had worked so hard to make it, and he longed to see it beautify his dreary home.

Slowly, the sun worked its way up in the distance, and Quasimodo watched it dutifully, careful not to stare directly at it. His eyes rested upon the dynamic colorful wash about it, the reds and yellows repelling the cold night sky's blue and fading away the shimmering stars. It wouldn't take too long until he would see it. His eyes moved for a quick moment back to the hanging glass before returning to the changing sky.

Then, he heard it: a familiar slap against the floorboards, approaching him from behind. Quasimodo stiffened, feeling an uneasy shiver quake down his bent spine. No, he didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be. He remained silent, listening deeply to the tower's sounds. The noise did not come again.

Quasimodo let out a sigh, partially relieved, partially disappointed. For a moment, he had thought that she—but of course not. That was impossible.

"Quasimodo?"

He jumped, and made a swift turnabout, staring down near the floor; he knew that she would stand there.

"Lilo," he murmured.

And, there the little girl stood, staring up at him curiously, her fingers playing against one another in a nervous, twitching fashion. The hunchback reached a hand out toward her, and she lifted her own to touch his. Quasimodo withdrew his hand swiftly, as if he had just been burned by her touch. No doubt about it. She was actually there.

Lilo stared at the hunchback in hurt surprise, holding her hand where he had pulled away, wondering what she had done. Of course, she hadn't come back, in turn breaking a promise that she had made that had even involved collateral, but did that add up to enough?

_Enough_, she wondered, _to make him hate me?_

"Quasimodo," she repeated; it was the only thing she knew he would understand.

"Lilo," Quasimodo interrupted, his tone harsh. He turned away from her, glaring off at the horizon, though he didn't truly see it. He wanted to yell at her, wanted to tell her so many angry things that bubbled up inside of him. She had the gall to return after everything that she had done to him… But, somehow, he couldn't find the courage to do it, though he found himself almost begging himself to discover it. Why couldn't he scream at her? Something stopped him.

How could this compassion still exist?

Something shimmered in his eye, and he lifted an arm to shield his face from the light. From behind, he heard Lilo's voice as she let out a long, awed breath, and he looked up and released his own impressed sigh. The sun had risen higher, and it flowed in through the open window, passing through the colored glass. Across the bell tower, the shadows were displaced by the colored lights, which glimmered and danced about the place like a moving rainbow. The dreariness brought about by many melancholy years and the recent days of extreme sadness seemed to melt away, and his temper and the desire to inflict pain and anger seemed to disappear along with it.

Quasimodo took a step backward to enjoy the show more fully, when he accidentally bumped into an awed Lilo. He looked down at her, surprised, and the frightened and sad look in her eyes had suddenly become evident. He felt guilt, and he looked away, moving past her to lean up against the wall and stare at the colorful lights.

Lilo looked back at him, and the lights that had taken her were now gone, and she only saw the man that tried to ignore her. She felt cold and sad, and frustration didn't seem to want to go away. How could she say what she wanted if he wouldn't even fully acknowledge her?

_I guess this is pointless_, she thought with a sniffle. She stared at him and saw that happiness that took his deformed face, which for years had unintentionally shirked joy. _I guess I should go now, _she thought drearily, turning her eyes away. _I wouldn't want to ruin his happy moment. _

Slowly, Lilo took a step toward the stairwell that descended nearby.

Quasimodo watched her from the corner of his eye, not wanting her to know that he saw her. That face…why had she made that face? As if he had acted horribly, as if he had hurt her. _If I did, she deserved it, _he thought bitterly, the cold and unhappy voice that lingered in his mind speaking up. It talked to Quasimodo often now; the boy had recently lost the urge to fight it.

He looked up at the shimmering glass spinning above the table, the light reflecting so brightly he could barely see the colored shards. His heart felt both light and heavy, a sensation he couldn't understand. A familiar confusion drifted into his thoughts, and his hand moved to clutch his chest, which tightened from some unnamable feeling.

The sounds of chokes and weeps brought Quasimodo back into reality, and still without turning his head, he looked to where Lilo still stood. She was crying…

* * *

Stitch scuttled about through the alleyways and streets on all fours, his mouth clamped tightly around Quasimodo's Gypsy talisman. His eyes scanned back and fourth across every walkway that greeted him, searching for the skinny old Gypsy king's bright colors. He made his way toward the Court of Miracles, where Clopin probably was at the moment, but Stitch, eager to return to Lilo, hoped that he would find the Gypsy well beforehand. His luck didn't play well at that moment.

Just as he turned a corner, he heard a slight melancholy melody drifting through the tired city air. The singer sounded rather sad and unenthused, the music half sung and half hummed, as if he or she had forgotten many words and didn't want to take the time to try and remember them. Sometimes, the singer would drift into a slow silence, and a few notes would disappear before the song would become apparent once again as a feeble whisper, which rose only minutely and would disappear yet again. It seemed pathetic, but familiar nonetheless.

Stitch stopped standing near the avenue's center, his ears perking up to catch where the melody came from. Soon, the jingling of jester bells became evident, mixed in with the near monotonous humming, and the experiment twitched his head to look down a narrow lane to his right. And, lo and behold, Clopin Trouillefou, the usually charismatic, somewhat annoying Gypsy troupe leader, plodded down the way, kicking at loose stones and debris that sat in his path.

Stitch scurried over to greet him, standing before Clopin and waving a hand to catch his attention. But, apparently, Mr. Clopin lost himself in his own little world, and it took a disgruntled grumble from Stitch after he accidentally kicked him to snap him out of his stupor.

"Dog?" Clopin blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Dog, is that you?"

"Ih," Stitch muttered out, rubbing his stomach unhappily.

"So you did come back!" he murmured, a delighted smile coming onto his face. "I was wondering whether or not I should take you on your word."

Stitch nodded, half listening to what the man said, and pulled the talisman out of his mouth to speak. "Lilo," he began. "She…"

"Oh yes," Clopin interrupted, and the short smile that he had upon Stitch's reappearance faded away. He let out a harsh sigh. "I'm afraid, dear Doggy, that I wasn't able to help the poor girl."

Stitch tilted his head in confusion. "Yeah?" he asked.

Clopin nodded, thinking back to days before, when he had taken up Stitch's rescue mission and broken into the Palace of Justice guised as Frollo. Everything went smoothly up until Frollo had somehow figured things out and sent practically an army to bar their escape. Lilo had mumbled crazily on and on about the bracelet that the dog had told him to give her, and he half-remembered helping her with something that she swore would work. The next thing he recalled after that was her exploding, and she had disappeared.

The disappearance had dazed him, but he realized that she was no longer with him, so, deciding that enough was enough, he made quick work of stripping down the guard that he had managed to knock out, squirming into his clothing, and slipping out through the soldierly mass at the front door. He returned to the Court of Miracles, only to end up almost hanged, for he had forgotten to take off his stolen costume. It took him a while to realize that she was lost… gone forever.

"Actually," Stitch spoke up, breaking into Clopin's thoughts, "Lilo is… okay."

Clopin started. "Okay?" he asked. "But, I saw her…"

"Lilo is fine," Stitch assured him. "She needed…go back home."

Clopin furrowed his brow, somewhat confused. "Go back home…? Was it some sort of trick…?"

Stitch gave him a strange look. "Yeah…" he said at length, scratching the back of his head. "A trick…"

He couldn't let Clopin know about futuristic technology, could he? Wasn't that some unwritten law of time travel?

Clopin smiled, and he let out a long happy breath, as if some relief had taken him. "What a clever girl! Frightened me a bit, I'll admit, but clever… clever!" He looked down at Stitch with his usual wide-mouthed grin. "So, Lilo's doing fine?"

Stitch nodded his head. "She say she want you have this," he said, and he lifted the talisman up to Clopin. The Gypsy king took it slowly, as if cherishing the golden gift that the creature handed him. "Say for…inspiration."

"Inspiration?"

"For song… She say, she want you to sing to Quasimodo some day," Stitch explained. "Make good, okay?"

Clopin smiled. "Okay," he said, and he bowed deeply to the little creature, as if to someone of great importance.

Stitch nodded and turned, preparing to scurry away, when Clopin tapped his shoulder gingerly. Stitch turned and saw Clopin with Lilo's bag in hand, extending it as if to tell him to take it. The experiment stared at it for a long while, trying to remember if Clopin had been holding it when he had caught up with him. He certainly didn't remember seeing it.

"She forgot this last you were at the Court," he told Stitch with a grin. "Give it to her, alright?"

Stitch passed the skinny king a glance before taking the bag with a nod and scampering off on all fours, disappearing finally behind a row of tall houses.

Clopin let out a surprisingly happy sigh, tucking the pendant into a pouch hanging from the rope belt around his waist. He felt an amount of inspiration that he hadn't encountered for such a long time, and he didn't want to waste a single drop of it. So, skipping off into the city that had just awoken to the bells of Notre Dame, he hummed a tune that seemed to have just slipped into his mind with the passing of the little blue creature.

* * *

She hadn't ever meant for any bad to come to him. She would've taken everything, every bad, unfair, hurtful thing if she could have, and destroyed them, just to spare him any pain. But, she couldn't. And now, when she tried to relieve her guilt, ease his hurting, she found that she couldn't do that either. He didn't give her a chance; she couldn't blame him either. Enduring all that he had to must have been so hard…

Lilo recognized all of these things. She knew, though she had hoped against it, he would be against seeing her again, especially after her broken promise. And now, she intruded upon him, during the single moment of happiness that he might procure from years and years of sorrow and envy. She only messed things up; she should just leave, she should just leave and let him be happy. But, she couldn't. She couldn't do anything to spare the poor hunchback!

She found herself crying, stopping before she could even reach the ladder that would take her away from Quasimodo forever. There seemed something wrong in leaving him now, after what she had done to help him. As she wept, her brain begged and pleaded with her legs, asking them to keep moving, at least just enough so that she could get out of his sight. But they wouldn't listen…

Lilo felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and she knew without even looking that Quasimodo had made his way behind her.

_No!_ Lilo screamed in her head, wiping vigorously at the tears, trying her best to vanquish them. _Now he doesn't get to be happy anymore… why can't he just leave me alone and be happy watching the mobile? No!_

"Lilo," Quasimodo murmured, trying to turn the little girl toward him. But, Lilo looked away, down at the floor beside him. She refused to look straight at him, not when those tears continued to fall.

"I was sorry," she sighed, her voice nothing more than a quiet whisper, spoken as if she didn't want him to hear. Not that it mattered much; Quasimodo could not understand her words.

The hunchback's hands gripped her shoulder tighter, a certain amount of frustration evident in its subtle fierceness. And yet, the young man spoke, his words hushed, as quiet as Lilo's. She listened to him talk, though the words meant nothing to her, and felt the sadness and pain that clung to his whispered voice. But, with those things came a kindness, and she could almost hear Quasimodo murmuring his own apologies, crying his own regretful tears.

The words melted away, replaced by sobs, strained and shuddering as if he tried to hold them back. And for the first time, Lilo found the courage to look up, and saw the man looking down, his tears pattering onto the dusty floorboards in a constant stream. For a while the both of them remained silent but for their weeping.

Lilo watched him, her tears streaming down silently, her lip quivering with things that she wanted to say. But, she knew he wouldn't understand what they meant. Feeling the vulnerability of the moment, she rested her head on his shoulders and ran her arms around his almost nonexistent neck. And, she embraced him tight, and cried too, because she knew that he might be able to understand that.

Quasimodo wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tight it seemed he didn't want to let her go. He began talking again, taking deep, shaky breaths between every few words. It seemed like a speech, maybe a confession… Lilo didn't know, but she would nod her head every once in a while to give him the impression that she did. She continued to listen with an intense attentiveness, trying to gather what he meant through the nuances in his trembling voice. Whatever it was, it sounded extremely important.

For a long, seemingly immeasurable time they held this position, Quasimodo murmuring, Lilo listening, both of them locked in a desperate hug. The diamond lights passed above the two of them, twinkling gently in the sunrise's fading red. Lilo moved slightly, and caught a glimpse of the transmitter's glowing green face, and saw, with a sudden drop of her heart, that her time neared ending. Two minutes remained before the thirty minutes assigned ran out.

Lilo pushed away from Quasimodo, staring at the device in disbelief, shaking her head. This came too soon! She couldn't tell him…

Quasimodo looked at Lilo questioningly, saying her name.

What could she do…?

_Nothing,_ Lilo answered herself. She realized that, and she rubbed her arm despondently, glancing up at the watch. Only a minute and thirty seconds left.

"Lilo?" Quasimodo looked at her worriedly, extending a hand to help.

_I can at least say goodbye, _she thought quietly. _But, I don't wanna just wave… it's more than that… How can I…?_

Lilo let out a sigh, and a night not so long before spent with Nani on a hammock came into mind. Tiki torches illuminated the dark sky, their flames waving like feathery tufts in the gentle Hawaiian wind. Pink flowers were tucked over their ears.

Lilo opened her mouth, Quasimodo watching alertly, and from it sprang a slow, beautiful melody. The farewell song that she grew up knowing, a sad song that she barely understood, and yet so deeply felt.

_Haaheo ka ua i nâ pali  
Ke nihi ae la i kanahele  
E uhai ana paha i ka liko  
Pua âhihi lehua a o uka_

Quasimodo listened, his lip quivering, the tears gone but the sadness within remaining, slowly growing.

_Aloha oe, aloha oe  
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo  
"One fond embrace", a hoi ae au  
"Until we meet again."_

"Lilo?" Quasimodo murmured again. The sound of his voice and the look on his face suggested that he knew what was going to happen. Lilo only gave him a sad smile and a slow, unenthused wave before staring off at the sunrise that continued outside the bell tower.

Quasimodo shook his head. Something stirred deep inside himself, a wistful feeling brought about by the foreign lyrics; he felt as if something was coming to happen, something that he couldn't stop. His eyes did not stray from Lilo's form. He reached a hand to touch her, maybe tap her shoulder, find out what went on…

But, before Quasimodo could do this, Lilo turned round, casting him her final sad smile before disappearing with a light more brilliant than the dawn.

* * *

Stitch hurried up the steps and ladders that led up to the bell tower's final levels, Lilo's strap bag hanging off one small shoulder. He glanced at his watch every few seconds, quickening every few moments. About five minutes remained before Jumba's device would force him back to Kauai, and he wanted to catch up with Lilo before then. He didn't know whether or not she remained in Paris. After all, he arrived a few minutes after she had, and he didn't know if Jumba put them on the same timer.

The upward system's last ladder came into view, and Stitch took no time hurrying up the wooden rungs toward what seemed the final level. In the constant movement, the bag had begun slipping off Stitch's shoulder, and halfway up the ladder the experiment had to stop and reset the strap to maintain its place. The clamor and echo of his hands and feet pounding against the steps and treads died away, leaving an uncanny silence to fill its place. Stitch twitched his ear mildly toward the hush, before turning back to the ladder, only to stop yet again a quarter from the top to listen.

A sobbing came to his ear, shuddering and sad. The creature lifted his head to the noise, his eyes resting on the next level's straight edge. It came from somewhere up there. Somewhere up there, someone wept.

Stitch closed his eyes, listening to the mournful noise as it continued to whisper in the cold air. The voice was deep and tired, as if it belonged to an old man. Stitch released a sigh. He had thought for a moment that, perhaps, Lilo had begun weeping again.

The experiment continued upward, his pace slowed by quite a margin, remaining focused on the crying. He stopped once he could peek above floorboards, squinting his eyes as a ray of sunlight passed over his eyes. Once he regained his sight, he saw, with a confused blink, a quivering figure lingering on the floor, silhouetted against the cold light streaming in through a wide window. It spoke, whatever it was, mumbling and sobbing in strings of French words. Stitch concentrated, striving to hear and understand.

"…do this to me? I don't… I don't understand… how could she… she just… she came back… I'd hoped, I hoped maybe, maybe she might… but she… she's gone! How could she…how did she…? Please, Lord, please tell me… please, I don't understand…"

Stitch blinked. Could he be talking about Lilo?

Still listening to the murmuring rant, the experiment silently climbed the rest of the way and slunk swiftly behind a vertical beam, hiding in the shadows.

"She left me… she just left me…"

Stitch's ears perked. "Quasimodo?" he murmured.

But, the hunchback took no notice, continuing to murmur to himself, mourning his losses, asking his questions.

"I told her… I told her everything, and she still… But… but how...? She just disappeared… she's gone…"

And, once again, he took to crying, his head turned to the dusty floor, the faint spattering of his tears strangely audible in the tower.

So this was the man, Stitch thought gravely, keeping his attention anchored on the weeping figure. The one that Lilo wanted to see again. Jealousy began to bubble up again within the experiment as he heard the hunchback's sad, mumbled rant. Through the shivering tones, he could sense love, of the confused and desperate sort, a love that, perhaps, might be more intense than Stitch's for the young girl. The man acted as if he couldn't live without the girl, that her departure would leave him mumbling in melancholy insanity for the rest of his life. Perhaps Quasimodo did love her more than he did; the thought resounded through Stitch's mind for a few moments, and, coming up to join the jealousy, he felt a tiny pocket of sadism. _Stitch_ had Lilo, not this man, not this man who loved her so much.

But then, a few moments later, watching the man cry and shiver with questions and uncertainty, Stitch's anger began to fall to nothingness. Lilo had come back to make the poor man feel better, to apologize for the sad feelings that she might have burdened him with. Lilo had only wanted to make this man feel better. And yet, he kneeled like a beaten child in the shadows, just beyond reach of the rising sun, demanding, weeping, begging for answers. His best friend's purpose, her only wish, despite Stitch and her efforts, had ultimately remained unfulfilled.

Shaking his head, and asking a nonexistent Lilo to forgive him for his earlier ideas, he closed his eyes and took a breath. Stepping from behind the concealing beam, Stitch took a step forward, taking a moment to search for the words that he wanted to say.

"Angels are never gone."

Quasimodo's stiffened suddenly, his weeps halting almost immediately. He straightened his back so that he no longer crouched as if looking upon the floorboards, and, with a slow and questioning pace, he turned to look behind him.

Stitch stood, no longer hiding, looking at Quasimodo sympathetically

The hunchback's eyes widened in both surprise and horror. "What?"

"Angels are never gone," Stitch repeated solemnly.

Quasimodo stared at the experiment for a long while, perceiving the blue creature as some sort of demon that had come to damn him. The man stood up, still looking at Stitch, and backed away, holding his hands before him as if telling the demon not to approach any further.

"What's wrong?" Stitch questioned, ignoring Quasimodo's gesture and making his way closer.

"No, don't!" Quasimodo exclaimed, backing up more until he bumped into his makeshift table.

"You…scared?" Stitch asked, tilting his head questioningly. "I am not going… hurt you."

Quasimodo, though still frightened, noted the gentleness in the tone, and in spite of himself, he lowered his hands and felt himself loosening somewhat.

"What do you want?" he demanded, watching the experiment with wariness, his expression suspicious.

Stitch looked at him with a little irritation, understanding but not enjoying the anger and doubt that this man treated him with. Glancing at his watch before speaking, Stitch noted that he had only three minutes remaining.

"You know," the experiment began, taking a step forward, "Lilo only want you to feel better, right?"

Quasimodo seemed to shudder at the name, and his face looked away, down to his knees. "She left me," he whispered, and Stitch saw a large, melancholy tear drop and shatter on the hunchback's toes. "I told her that I needed her, that I missed her, and she left me."

Stitch blinked, pushing down a slight bubble of jealousy. "You love Lilo?"

"I took care of her," Quasimodo answered with a murmur. "When I saved her, it was like she was my baby, my child. I felt like, for the first time, I… I meant something to someone. Like, someone needed me… but…" More tears joined the first, and Stitch could hear Quasimodo's breaking heart in the shaking of his voice. "But, it's not that way at all. She never needed me… She left… I actually thought… that maybe… she wanted to be here…"

Stitch felt an intense sadness flow over all of the bell tower, as if the hunchback lived in everything that he touched. "She did want be here," Stitch admitted, his own voice quieted to a sad and guilty whisper. Quasimodo lifted his face up, the tears falling, but his expression curious.

"She wanted to be here?"

"Yes, but someone needed her too," Stitch continued. The experiment looked up and smiled at the hunchback gently. "Angels are never gone," he repeated. "Lilo need go home, but she never gone."

"Angel…?" Quasimodo watched Stitch as the experiment spoke, wondering the exact meaning behind all that the creature had to say.

"Yeah," Stitch said with a nod. "She went home."

"Home…?" Quasimodo repeated the words, slowly beginning to comprehend. "Do you mean… Lilo…"

"She will think about you a lot, I think," Stitch told him. He glanced at his watch quietly. "I think, maybe, is time for me go home too."

"Wait!" Quasimodo exclaimed. He reached behind him, pulling a repaired Scrump from the carved city. He approached Stitch tentatively, still somewhat frightened, and handed him the rag doll quietly.

"Please," he said, looking guilty, "please give it to her. Tell her that I'll be thinking about her a lot too…"

Stitch took Scrump with a nod. "Ih," he murmured. And, with a smile, he waved and said, "Aloha!"

And, seconds later, he disappeared as Lilo, and left Quasimodo standing in his bell tower, extremely bewildered. Could it be possible that he was visited by two angels this day? Two angels that looked like a gypsy and a demon… could that be possible?

* * *

**And so, there it is, the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed the "Hawaiian" experience as much as I did (though I'd admit that I can NOT read through my first chapter without wanting to strangle myself). Is there going to be a sequel? Maybe, a reunion between the two outcasts? I don't know. I'm never going to be sure. But, anyway, I'm going to go work on Sindey City: Winter Troubles after a short break! It's a crossover, and if you're nice to me (or if you actually LIKE my stories, which MIGHT be possible) go and read it, please! Yes, I'm a horrible, shameful person who begs people to read her stories... sniffles Ah well. Now, Review, and I'll see you all some other day, maybe!  
**


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